"I want to give her my money," Bridger told his mother. He was referring to $300 he had recently received from various relatives as a birthday present. "Are you sure?" Mindy asked him. After arranging to have the money brought to his room, they presented it to the mother.

"This is who he is," says Mindy through her tears. "People have no idea the compassion he has. Here he is going through all of this, and he wants to help someone else who is going through a hard time."

Bridger empathizes with Craig Miller, as well. Miller made a pipe bomb for a neighborhood July 24 Pioneer Day fireworks celebration. Bridger was riding his bike 30 feet away when the bomb exploded. It blew out part of his stomach. It tore off a chunk of his buttocks and his back. It nearly severed one of his legs except for one flap of skin. Organs were perforated. Skin was cooked. It was a war injury. He will undergo surgeries the rest of his life. If he keeps his leg, he will walk with the help of a brace and a walker or cane, and that's the best-case scenario.

There was understandable public outrage at Miller. The Internet bloggers wanted blood and slipped into their usual volley of bickering and nastiness. But here's the way Mindy and Bridger see it: People do stupid things all the time — run a yellow or red light, send a text message while driving, set off illegal fireworks — and they're lucky no one gets hurt. Miller did something stupid, and he was unlucky enough that someone did get hurt.

One day in the hospital, Mindy put this question to her son: "If you had to punish Miller, how would you do it?" Bridger said he wouldn't do anything. Mindy repeated the question: "If you had no other option, how would you punish him?" Bridger replied, "I would want him to talk to other people to warn them about fireworks."

"People say I'm not being an advocate for my son because I don't want Craig punished," Mindy says. "Well, I am being an advocate for my son. That's what my son wants."

She was angry when she received a letter from the prosecuting attorney stating that the state would make an example out of Miller. "Uh, uh," she says. "My son will be emotionally damaged by that."

Look, this woman is not stupid. She's forgiving and she's pragmatic. She knows she needs a means to meet Bridger's needs. Miller is a welder with a wife and children. She could sue him for millions, but he doesn't have millions. He sent Mindy a message through a police intermediary saying that he will sell his house and use whatever means he has to pay for as much of Bridger's medical expenses as he is able.

"He'll never have enough money to do everything," Mindy says, "but he is incredibly sorry and wants to help. He is a stand-up guy."