Journal entry by Diana Howard —
3 weeks ago today our lives changed forever. Time since then has been a blur iof surgeries, doctors, nurses, PT/OT, education, wound care, psychiatrists, and on and on. Will is amazingly resilient and this has brought our family and friends together in a way we never expected. He has had to learn literally everything over again from walking, stairs, navigating kitchens & bathrooms, relearning how to drive with his left foot, and so much more. Yesterday they discovered another fracture in his right hand so he will need another surgery on that. In two weeks he meets with his plastic surgeon to determine when he will be ready for his skin grafts on his residual limb. We have come to the realization that this is going to be a very long process but Will is prepared to do whatever it takes to eventually regain his freedom and the outdoor activities that brought him to Salt Lake in the first place. Our lofty goal of being home for Christmas is unfortunately not going to happen so we will make this instread a celebration that he is here with us. A huge shoutout to the nurses, doctors, and care teams here at the University of Utah Rehabilitation Hospital. They have gone above and beyond to create a warm, caring environment for Will to recover and heal. We appreciate everyone who has called, texted, stopped by, donated, and sent cards & gifts.