In February of 2002 Justin and I had just gotten to my parents house after a full day of working and studying, and it just so happened his parents were there hanging out there as well.
We were having a good time hanging out when Justin's Dad recieved an urgent call. Jared had been in an accident.
Jared was skiing with a group of students from Wheaton college (of which he is an alum) and on the last run he was on, he had crashed, and that was all we knew.
We all piled into cars and headed up to the hospital in Madison where he was being med-flighted.
We had NO IDEA what to expect.
Minutes seemed like hours as we waited for his arrival and news on his condition.
When the news finally came, it wasn't good. They weren't even sure if he would live.
The next few weeks are really like a blur to me, Jared remained in intesive care for weeks.
It was INCREDIBLY emotional.
Soon he was transfered to another hospital for months, then to a nursing home until my in-laws were able to build an addition to thier home and recieve care for him there.
He isn't able to talk to us. We talk to him and he will nod yes or no. We don't know how much he understands.
This year Jared turned 28 on July 9.
We miss him dearly.