Bobby's Crash Foundation

1 week ago

A YEAR.

Well, it’s been a year since 2:30 in the morning, when I got that phone call. That moment when, as a parent, you are so far away that nothing you can do right then will change anything. The unsettling fear. So many unanswered questions. The how. The why. The when. How long had he been there? How bad was he?

Hearing those words will forever haunt me: “He was alive when they left.” I don’t fault the deputy for that answer. I never will. It was the factual truth.

The next 11 hours were phone calls. Friends to vent to. Friends to call and help piece everything together. Friends right there by our side, helping us hold it all together. Without them, I don’t know how we would have made that drive back home or gotten through the weeks that followed. Something that came from all of this was a bond and an expansion of friendships and relationships that I will forever be grateful for.

Seeing Brennen for the first time still haunts me. Lifeless. Still. Broken and bleak. Hours and days of not knowing. Trying to find rest during those first 96 hours. Not knowing how he would turn out. But there were signs of hope. A finger. A thumbs up. A blink. The medical team was beyond words. They did things I could not have imagined would lead us to where we are today.

Then the brain storms. The violence of healing. Something no one prepares you for.

In that moment, I started thinking about how to find a future in all this pain, even with the long term unknowns. How can I stop this from happening to another family? How can I help kids today understand that actions have consequences? This was where Bobby’s Crash was born. It started as an idea to try to stop others from making the same choices Brennen did.

Weeks later, we were on our way home. There were many more appointments, and the future was clearer, but still a long way from certain. But we got there. Back to driving. Back to thriving. Then back to work. How? Why? How on this planet did he survive this? How did he make it this far? I still do not know.

The goal was simple. I wanted my son to understand that our choices can have consequences we never imagined. It took a hard turn for him to understand that, but today he does. He sees how close he came and what it cost him. He knows now more than ever that life can change in the blink of an eye.

Today, I am grateful for the support. For the prayers from people in distant corners of this county and across the seas. For the support of those first people who got to the scene and called for help. For the brotherhood of first responders who did their jobs and kept this young man alive. But most importantly, for the friends who rallied behind us. They became family and so much more than friends. The list could go on and on, and even today, I will never be able to thank each and every person for all the parts they played.

Today, we remember what was and what could have been, but we know we are all stronger because of it.

This weekend, I saw light in Brennen. A smile that means more to me than words can say while we were taking family pictures. A small moment You In Photos by Nanc Inc. captured, one I once could not have imagined.

As we move forward and continue building this foundation, we are grateful Brennen can be part of Bobby’s Crash and help us use his story to change outcomes before they happen. ... See MoreSee Less