Reply #9: I can't imagine how Christopher's friends and family feel right now. [View All]

[petersjo]

There will be a huge hole in their hearts now that he is gone. I've followed Christopher's journey since 1995 with a special interest and sympathy because just a couple weeks after he suffered his injury in a fall from his horse, I had a fall from my horse that was eerily similar. After the fall, I lay in the middle of a gravel road unable to move any part of my body, watching my horse run off towards home and wondering when a car would come over the hill and run over me because the driver wouldn't be able to see me in time. I kept trying to move my arms and legs, and finally after several minutes began to move them one at a time then finally coordinate them enough to stand up and finally begin to walk towards home myself, blood streaming down my back from a head wound. Several months later I had delicate spinal cord surgery because of the damage to my spine at the level of C2 to C7 and have since been able to ride my horse again. I've always had a place in my heart for Christopher because it could as well have been me as him. I admired his bravery and his positive attitude and all the hard work he did to overcome his disability. His spirit soars now even though his body couldn't here on earth.