Courtney started the day off celebrating her departure from Braintree eating cake with the staff. It was a beautiful cake and delicious. Everyone was crying, except Courtney! She said "good bye 204 B FOREVER!" and "I will never be a patient again!"
We made the 1 1/2 hour drive quite easily and Courtney remembered cities, towns, people and many random facts along the way. At home she had lunch and then a nap. After the nap Courtney watched TV and relaxed for the rest of the day.
It was a joyous day as Craig said better than any birthday, any Christmas, any holiday anyone ever had. Courtney made the decision not to have a delayed Christmas. Instead she opted to give (the only gifts we bought last year) Katy and Claudia their Christmas presents last night. We bought them together at Marshalls on employee day and Courtney had picked them all out. The girls were thrilled with everything Courtney had selected for them and Courtney was thrilled to give those gifts along with the stuffed Lobster and Elephant from Build A Bear.
Throughout the past 1 1/2 days Courtney has said 'thank you so much' to everyone. ALL the staff, Doctors, nurses, aids, secretaries, housekeeping all received a very sincere 'thank you so much' from Courtney. It was heartfelt. She has thanked Craig and I dozens of times for praying for her and 'for everything.' When Courtney was still in TICU I started praying that God would give her a grateful heart. That she would never be angry or bitter about the accident. I could never have imagined the gift of having Courtney's heart SO filled with gratefulness, love, happiness, peace and joy. I could never have imagined that so early on she would recognize that "God made me better."
As awful as the terrible days were (and I could never have imagined how awful they were before they happened) - these past 2 weeks have been far more joyous. And I could never have imagined the joy, happiness and gratitude that would fill our hearts. We are so grateful and so overwhelmed by joy.
Thank you to the countless people who supported and prayed for us all along the way.
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13 comments:
Welcome Home Courtney -
You are truly an inspiration. I only wish that a small fraction of the world was as kind and wonderful as you and your whole family. We hope to see you soon.
Love - The Murphys
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
We are so thrilled you are home, Courtney. Happy Valentine's Day from the girls! They send hugs and kisses too. We can't wait to see you. Hugs to all the Hollingworths. We love you very much. the Laffey family
Welcome home Courtney
so happy for you! <3 I'll see you soon girl!
Chelsea
Welcome Home Courtney!
We are sure you have enjoyed sleeping in your own bed in your home surrounded with family and love. We will continue to pray for your continued progress on the road to recovery.
love
the spazianos
Heyyy Courtney!
So glad your home! Happy Valentine's Day! :) I hope I can come visit you soon and bring you lots of ice cream! :) Love you!
Carey :)
Happy Valentine's Day to all the Hollingworth Family!
Love and Hugs and Kisses
Mrs. Carey
What a wonderful milestone for all of you ! Les and I will keep you all in our prayers and ask that Courtney's recovery will continue at her dizzying pace ! Thanks be to God!
Lynne
What a wonderful day! Home sweet home. Courtney, you've never met us but we are cousins of your mother. We are the Florida Reall's. I was pregnant at the same time as your mom. Our oldest, Amanda is your age, CJ-17 & Stephen is 14. You've inspired all of our children to cherish every day and to strive much higher than they ever thought possible. You are an amazing girl with an amazing family. If you ever travel to Florida, please come see us. May God continue to watch over you and your family.
Lots of Love,
Michele, Chris, Amanda , CJ & Stephen
The Florida Reall's
This is great news. It truly is a miracle. Welcome home. -- Julia
I am completely in awe of all of you, Courtney especially!
Judy B
Courtney, this is a very random find for me. I am one of the owners of the Planet Smoothie you visited on Friday. I was doing marketing research for my store when I came across your blog. The VERY strange part about this is that you and my business partner, Randy, have much in common. While on business in Italy (almost 3 years ago) he fell 5 stories to the concrete street below. I lived in Italy for two months while he was recovering in an Italian hospital.
I identify sooo much with what you and your family are going through. If Randy and I had known you were so close to our smoothie shop during your rehab, we would have definitely brought some smoothies over for you and your family to enjoy.
I am so happy to see you were able to go home. There is nothing like home once you've been through what you are going through. Randy is fully recovered now, he just has some dental work to finish up. He was actually photographed in front of our smoothie shop last week for an article in the Boston Herald.
I know recovery is painful and slow going but with each day of work, it gets better. One of the amazing things about Randy is that he is a pilot, and he was able to get himself back in the cockpit in less than a year. During his recovery, Randy pushed so hard every day, and I was so fearful of him doing too much too soon... but he surprised me everytime. Your strong spirit and unwavering desire to push the limit will get you through this as quickly as you can.
I send you and your family my thoughts and prayers. Always remember, "forward is your friend".
Warm regards,
Terri
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