Vickie Walker

I know what I was wearing. I know where I was sitting. I know exactly what I was doing — as if it is frozen before me — when I heard the local news break into the programming to announce the shooting at Trolley Square.

Trolley Square is where my husband, Jeff, and son, AJ, were shopping for last-minute items for Valentine's last February 12th. Alex (my daughter) and I jumped to our feet and madly dialed Jeff and AJ's cell phones simultaneously. There was no answer; I knew it was not good. In my heart, I knew that our life as we knew it would be dramatically changed. I knew, somehow I knew, Jeff was gone.

One year later, our family is slowly moving into our "new normal." Each day over the last year me and my children have gradually carved out our new reality without my husband, their father. Our life without Jeff.

This year has been laden with emotion, grief and tears. But also, interestingly enough, great growth. We have gained an appreciation for the resiliency of the human spirit. When my father and I bent over AJ's hospital bed several days after the shooting to let him know what had happened to Jeff, AJ looked up at me and asked, "What are we going to do, Mom?" The grief was overwhelming and very easily could taken the life out of our living. But the decision was made by our family at AJ's bedside: We were going to try and be positive and work toward bringing happiness back into our lives. Given the choice, we were choosing forgiveness over bitterness; we were choosing happiness over hopelessness. It hasn't been a straight line, but we have moved in that direction.

The spring and summer were spent running AJ to speech therapy, physical therapy, psychological therapy and doctors appointments. I spent most days in my car and in waiting rooms. The shot to AJ's head has left him with a brain injury, but he has steadily improved, and his prognosis for a full recovery is hopeful. ...

AJ returned to school under the "special programs" umbrella and has been going about four hours each day. This month he added a few more classes and is now attending school full-time. He continues to be bothered by crowds, so the school allows him to leave class before the halls become congested with students. He is currently working at a 9-10 grade level and we plan on celebrating his graduation in June. He tries very hard in school, and I am very proud of his hard-earned progress. Issues of socialization, decision-making, word finding are still areas where we are seeing some struggles. But, considering the serious nature of his brain injury, he is doing great.