Happy Birthday Uncle Will!

Will turned 29 years old on Saturday December 18th and also became an uncle to nephew Miles Von Colln Johnson! How cool is that!? Since I was in labor and giving birth we weren't all able to do what we had planned, but I think we all agree there was a lot to celebrate that evening when Miles arrived. Miles was born at 5:32 pm, weighing in at a very healthy 8 pounds 8 ounces! Our folks are here with us in NC and we have all enjoyed this past week. It was a very Merry Christmas to say the least!

Check It Out...

This is a short video about one of the guys Will met at the Shepherd Center...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRx7vr8RNgY

Sled Hockey

Will has started to try out sled hockey. Ty & I went to watch today. Ty got out on the ice to help and ended up playing goalie. (And Will even scored on him!) It looked pretty fun and if I weren't preggo I would have gotten out there too! Will has also been meeting with someone to look into getting into kayaking. He continues to take 1 on-line nutrition course, but has otherwise put school on hold. He is working with vocational rehab and a counselor to work through a variety of issues.

Studying

Surf's up dude...

We headed to Wrightsville Beach this weekend in Wilmington, NC for the "They Will Surf Again Event" which was sponsored by Life Rolls On. Life Rolls On was founded by Jesse Billauer, a California surfer who was paralyzed as a teenager from a surfing accident in 1996. There were about 35 participants and about 200 volunteers. Will, Ty, & I had a blast. The waves were awesome! It was pretty cool to watch Will go way out, battling through the breakers and then come hauling ass in. It was a little nerve wracking to watch this, but each surfer had about 8 volunteers out there with them. Will went out twice, for about 20 min each time. I am going to try and post some videos and pictures. Here are links to the stories, pictures, & video on-line.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/08/619471/surfing-smiling-again.html

http://coastal.news14.com/content/629003/people-with-spinal-injuries-given-the-chance-to-surf

Summer

Will is up on the Cape ... enjoying friends, Summer Shandy, and a boat ride.

Standing frame

Cupping

Pictures

Past two months ...

Life rolls on for Will down here in NC. The rest of the spring was filled with a visit from our folks in late April and a visit from Will's friend Melanie in early May. Of course Mother's Day marked Will's 1 year anniversary of his accident. Ty & I were down in Pinehurst exactly like we were last year and that was difficult for me. Life is still an adjustment in many ways. Even though it has been a little over a year from his accident, it still hasn't been a year since Will left Shepherd and entered back into "the real world." I am proud to say that Will has mastered many things since leaving Shepherd, including driving and travelling on an airplane independently. (I think he has flown back home more than I have this past year!) Now if he will only learn to like tomatoes .... still working on that :) Will is also going to have to adapt to another new role and way of life in early December as he is going to be an uncle :) Ty & I are excited to be expecting our first child! Since I am surrounded by testosterone in this house I am convinced it has to be a girl to help "balance" things around here :) But we won't know until December. Will was home for about 10 days in mid-May for a golf fundraiser that his buddy's dad organized. I think Will had a really great time with all of his friends and was thankful for all the support and funds that were raised. He is still in the process of trying to get a lift installed into the bed of his pick-up truck so that he doesn't have to constantly break-down and put together his chair every time he gets in and out. This will help prevent overuse injuries of his shoulders that are common in paraplegics. He continues to pursue the possibility of going back to school for a master's in nutrition or to get a license to become a registered dietitian. He has started to participate in a research study at UNC and continues to go to acupuncture and rehab 1-3 days a week. This week he will be having eye surgery. He will have Lasik in the right eye and another procedure in the left eye to get rid of a large corneal scar from the accident. The scarring has caused his vision to be somewhat impaired and is bothersome for him. So hopefully both procedures will work well for him and he can kiss his contacts good-bye! We are all also looking forward to a trip back home for July 4th!

Success!

The fundraiser last night was a HUGE success. Over $6,000 was raised; once again, proving that there are A LOT of good people in this world. The support that Will and our family has received continues to be one of the most precious gifts we have received. It has almost been 1 year since Will's accident which is hard to believe. He has come so far; we have all come so far. Please check out the amazing documentary that was shown last night. Here is the link:
http://vimeo.com/9901797

Will is back in the Tar Heel State and is getting right back into the swing of things tomorrow with acupuncture and rehab all day. Looking forward to the 60 degree weather this weekend!

Fashion Show Fundraiser - Wed. March 3rd

Many of you know Will graduated from Endicott College in Beverly, MA. Delta Epsilon Chi (DEX), an international organization for college students preparing for a variety of business careers, is presenting the 8th annual DEX fashion show on March 3rd. The theme is Discover the Fashion: Celebrating 70 Years of Endicott College. Each year a different charity is chosen, and this year, the funds raised will go to Will to cover medical expenses. Will is flying up for the show; he will leave NC on Feb 26th and return to NC on March 4th. Matt Forcier, an Endicott alum and founder of Lasting Memories Videotaping, is producing a short documentary about the challenges Will now faces in his day-to-day life. The video will air at the end of the show. I hope to be able to upload the video here on the blog for those that cannot attend. If you are interested in attending or donating, here is the link

http://www.endicott.edu/servlet/com.rnci.products.PublishNow.RetrieveSingleArticle?serv=endicottpub&db=endicott&site=endicott&sction=adminprerelmain&article=207&part=2&archivepref=N

In other news, we did get some snow down here - about 6-8 inches. We hunkered down for the weekend and played Chathamopoly (Monopoly - only with Chatham Real Estate). Will was the first to go broke and I won :) We are all looking forward to spring and warmer weather!

Return to NC on 1/19/2010...stay tuned!