Letter to President Obama

(Written April, 2009)

My wife and I will be attending the ASU commencement on May 13 where our son will be receiving his Bachelor Degree and President Obama is scheduled to address the graduates. This is a miraculous occasion for us as September 11, 2008 marked a turning point in the life of our son, and consequently, the lives of our family and friends.

Our son, Graham, had his two best friends arrive in Phoenix that day to visit him for the weekend. That night, as they were returning home, Graham and one of his friends were brutally assaulted in what the media and police described was one of the most senseless and unprovoked brutal acts of violence they had ever encountered. I received word of the assault from a phone call from a detective on the afternoon of September 12 as I was at my home in Idaho. The only information we could access from the detective and the hospital was that Graham had bleeding on the brain, was on life support, in critical condition, and that his vital signs were stable.

My wife and I left immediately for Phoenix with little information and lots of prayer. We arrived to find him unconscious, but improving from a double craniotomy surgery, three plates and sixteen screws holding his skull together. The next few days are indescribable both in terms of fear and joy as he began a slow process to recovery. Until he awoke, the surgeon could only tell us that he was out of danger, but that we may be taking care of him the rest of our lives. Slow but steady improvements followed over the days in Critical Care and we, along with staff at the hospital, were in Awe of the progress he made. The common word in describing Graham, and his recovery, was, and is, "miracle".

During the rehabilitation and therapy that followed, Graham was questioned constantly as to the day, time, location, and other basic information that could be used to track his cognitive progress. Another common question was "who is the President of the United States"? Graham responded to these with varying success as his brain continued to heal, but with each day he became more determined to answer the questions correctly so that he "could go home and have his life back". As the Presidential campaign was at its height, I would constantly follow the therapist’s questions with one of my own..."who will be the next President of the United States?" Graham never failed to respond that it would be Barack Obama!

After weeks and months of continued medical attention and therapy, Graham was able to return to classes at ASU and finish the fall semester. He was able to vote in the election and I know who he voted for! On the night of the election, Graham, my other son, Jordan, who attends NYU, and I spent the evening texting "Yes, we can" back and forth to each other with a meaning even further expanded beyond what the President intended.

Graham is just completing his studies and will be among the thousands of ASU graduates listening to President Obama's speech that day. He called me the day that it was announced that the President would be the commencement speaker to inform me that he had decided to "walk" for graduation. It struck me that there was a day not too long ago that we only prayed for him to live, and that walking would truly be a miracle. I have become almost expectant of miracles as we have witnessed God's Grace and Hand so many times over the past nine months as He used doctors, family, and friends to bring us to this day. It is then just "another miracle" that the President would be Graham's graduation speaker.

I am not certain how the President will address the graduates, and I am doubtful that he will be able to shake all of those hands, but I am hopeful for Graham that he will "feel' the miracle of the President's presence, his message, his determination (which might even be equal to my son's!), and his spirit! If the President does shake their hands, please ask him to whisper in Graham's ear that "his Father, and his father, are both proud and love him dearly!" If this isn't possible, a quick phone call, text, e-mail, or Facebook wallpost will do...lol!