By David D. Cajiuat

When my son, Joshua, was 17 years old, he began running with me. He was home schooled, so the running served as his P.E.  Our first run was three miles and it took me about 32 minutes to run and Josh about 36 minutes.  After two months of running, I dropped my time to below 29 minutes; Josh was running around 26 minutes.  Josh was beginning to fall in love with running.  There were times when I could only muster a two mile run, and he would continue to run three miles. I’d wait for him near the end of our normal route and challenge him to keep from letting me beat him… he usually left me in the dust.

On a cold, cloudy and misty Alabama morning, our lives were forever changed. It was around 7 a.m. on November 30, 2002.  Joshua asked me, “Dad, are you running today?” I said, “No son, my knees are aching from the weather.” He replied, “That’s okay, I’ll run again when you can, Dad.”  He had smoked me on a three mile run three days earlier… that was the last time we ran three miles together.

Around 3 p.m. that afternoon, we decided to go Christmas shopping, and Josh suggested that the kids take separate cars so they could buy presents for the parents.  My wife, daughter and I took one vehicle, while Joshua and his brother, Caleb (then 12),  took another.

Exactly one mile outside of our home, Joshua proceeded through a blind intersection, his view obstructed by a UPS truck. His car was struck broadside by a Chevy Blazer.  Caleb was taken to the Huntsville Hospital Pediatric ER, treated for minor cuts, bruises and released that night.  Joshua was not so fortunate.  He was flown by helicopter to Huntsville Hospital and the emergency workers who cut him out of the wreck told us that they didn’t think Josh would live.

Josh sustained a severe pelvic injury, collapsed lung, bladder trauma and more seriously, a Traumatic Brain Injury.  He hovered between life and death for more than two weeks.  When his brain swelling subsided, he finally came out of his coma after more than 20 days.  Finally, 36 days after the wreck, he was taken to Shepherd Center to receive continued treatments and therapies.  Later, after he emerged from his dysfunctional brain, he went to Shepherd Pathways to complete more therapy.

While we were at the Shepherd Center waiting for Josh to complete his treatment s and therapies, we took up running as a family…all in honor of Joshua.  My sister from California began to run races in honor of Joshua.  Since hearing of Joshua’s accident, my sister has run countless 5K’s and 10kK’s, 15 half marathons and one full marathon… all in honor of Joshua.  She’s not the fastest, nor the fittest, but the most faithful.  She designed the yellow tech running shirt that I wore on the day of the AJC Peachtree Race, and she and our family have “inspired” countless others who know of Joshua’s story to start running.

Since Joshua’s ordeal just over 18 months ago, our family has run dozens of 5K’s, two 10k’s, and my wife and I completed the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon.  The AJC Peachtree Road Race was my third 10K. I wanted to run it, not for a personal best 10K time, but for the 1-2 minutes of walking by the Shepherd Center to thank (with that banner that you see in the picture) the therapists and doctors who have sacrificed and sweated with so many patients; who have showed kindness, support and dedication to brain and spinal injury patients. I also wanted to encourage the other patients and family members to keep on pressing on, like a race.  Their race (and ours with Joshua) is not a sprint, nor a 10K, but an ultra-life marathon… it is life changing.  I hope to run the AJC Peachtree Road Race every year, to thank and encourage the Shepherd Center for a job well done.

We run, because Josh can’t run that much…yet.  While he was in his critical days in ICU we decided that if we couldn’t run with Josh, we would run for him.  After 18 months he can barely run one mile in 12 minutes. He hobbles and stumbles with aches and pains from his feet to his lungs.  Still, Josh has completed two “official races”.  Though the races were only one mile fun runs, and he’s often beaten by young children nearly a decade younger than him, he runs.  We are thankful to the teams of doctors and therapists that have helped Josh get to where he is today. So on July 4, 2011 we ran in honor of Josh and his team of heroes who cared for him.

One day, we would like to run Peachtree with Josh as a family as he continues to progress physically and mentally.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and we hope to encourage others to join with us in this world we call…running.  Run, Josh…RUN!