Monday and Tuesday, November 27th and 28th

Hello again,

Well, we survived the first big holiday break and weekend. In all honesty, the holiday season is challenging and very emotional for us all and we often find ourselves struggling more than usual... Tori should have been enjoying the day after Thanksgiving, early morning shopping with her mother as she always has. Tori should have been snowboarding with all of her cousins as she always has. Tori should be dancing with and enjoying the great company of all of her friends as she always has. Tori should be enjoying and sharing her life's findings with her family. But now she can't do any of that... And the thought that she will never do any of that again is well, very hard to deal with at times... Knowing the life Tori is missing out on, the dreams lost, the pain and suffering that she endures daily, the continual deterioration of her body, and the constant fear in our minds that she might not heal or recover no further... We feel this pain EVERY DAY and it NEVER leaves us. 'Being Thankful' certainly is hard at times... This is the harsh reality we live in and to this day the tears still flow almost daily at the thought of our loss and the struggles that Tori and our family are now presented with. We would give anything to have our 'normal life' back but of course that is not possible...

There are many others in similar situations who share in our pain and struggles. We are unfortunately not alone. Take for instance, Koo's post regarding Chris earlier this week which hit so very close to home... We as caregivers depend alot on each other and even more on ALL OF YOU who are there to love and support us on our difficult journeys. We are 'Very Thankful' for ALL OF YOU and we will NEVER give up in helping our sons, daughters, spouses, parents, family members and friends who need us the most.

In closing tonight I will share with you a story that was sent to me by one of the thousands of faithful supporters who visit this site daily. Please spend a few minutes to read it and watch the video from the link at the bottom of the page. Love is the guiding force in all of our journeys.

Here is the story and video .

Thank you all for reading this update and tomorrow I promise to spend more time on Tori's progress and her first night out at a restaurant for dinner since her injury.

-Tim