From a nightmare to a dream almost realized - that is what Joshua McKeon, a Holland High School senior and our son, has experienced within just the last two weeks.

His nightmare, and ours, was an accident that left him with a traumatic brain injury on Sunday, April 13, 2008. An afternoon with his girlfriend and friends in Granger turned into that nightmare when Josh flew up off the tailgate of a pickup truck in residential Granger. Landing on his shoulders and the back of his head, Josh was taken by ambulance to Scott and White Hospital in Temple because they have the best trauma unit in the area.

His girlfriend and friends were traumatized. We were devastated when we received the call telling us he was injured and it didn’t look good.

Upon arriving at the emergency room entrance, we were met and escorted in by our pastor, Tommy Rosenblad; Josh’s youth minister, Koby Strawser; and a youth volunteer, Katelyn Malone. Minutes stretched in terror before we were led to a family room so that the ER physicians could meet with us. We were not alone. Friends and family arrived to envelope us and sit with us in that stark room, waiting for word of his injuries.

The final outcome of that accident was a skull fracture and a small subdural hematoma. We were finally led into Room 220 in the Intensive Care Unit to find our son laying so still under the sheet, a cervical collar encircling his neck and blood staining his head and hands. We reached to touch, to speak, to hold his blood-stained hands to make sure he knew we were there, even though he was heavily medicated to keep him calm and still, not knowing if he could hear us at all. But it comforted us and we prayed he knew his family was surrounding him.

Josh doesn’t remember much of his hospital stay. He was an ICU patient through Tuesday night, when he was moved into a room. Bits and pieces float through his memory, but most of his memories don’t begin until Wednesday night or Thursday. He doesn’t remember the accident and I believe that is a blessing.

Josh has some remnants left over from April 13 and some things to overcome, but he is alive, walking, talking, loving and hugging . . . and the rest will come follow, we pray.

Josh and Becca, his girlfriend, had been talking about prom night for weeks. His tux had been ordered to match her dress. A corsage and boutonniere were in the making by Katelyn as a treat for the couple.

When Josh started realizing where he was and found out what had happened, one of his first concerns was whether he had missed his prom! Finding out he was unable to attend was devastating when it was added onto everything else.

We started planning for Josh and Becca, along with her mom, Cynthia Blomquist. Trips were made to pick up the tux to see if it fit and then to have the alterations made. Holland High School gave us some of the decorations they were going to use that Saturday night, and Shannon and Erin, our daughters, traveled from store-to-store looking for things to add to transfigure the room for “Josh and Becca’s Prom Night.”

We called his room “The Prom Annex,” thought of by Josh’s dad, who put in as many as 36 hours straight at the hospital watching over Josh, providing bedside care to our son and comfort to the rest of us, who took turns falling apart periodically....

With the cooperation of the floor nurses, Josh’s hospital bed was moved into the hallway to enlarge the space. His sisters and I began decorating while he watched us from the bed, sometimes awake, sometimes not. Frantic last minute decorating was done later so that he wouldn’t wear out too much from the preparations and activity.

It was all worth it when we saw Josh’s eyes trained on his girl who had been there many days and many hours, traveling back and forth from school and after work to see him, encourage him and hold his hand. The spark in his eyes was the blessing we’d been waiting for, praying for and crying for throughout that long week filled sometimes with despair, but also brimming with hope that God would pull him through and bring him back to us--happy and healthy.

He cannot go back to school yet until he receives clearance from several doctors who will see him beginning during the first week of May.

The important thing is that God saved our son and brought him back to us. We take each day, one day at a time, and give thanks for the small blessings and improvements. It could have been so much worse.

I haven’t told you so much of the story, but if you ask, I’ll share with you one-on-one. I could probably write a book about the last couple of weeks. But if you ask for my story, just don’t be surprised if I cry . . . I can’t seem to stop doing that. But now they’re on their way to becoming tears of joy, not of pain and sadness.

One of the things our family has discovered through all this is the love and friendship of so many people and the comfort that can give. The power of prayer is awesome, and Josh had people praying for him--and for us--all over the United States and even in other countries.

People flooded the waiting rooms, the ICU and Josh's room on the floor comforting us and checking on Josh daily. The prayers over Josh and us, the hugs, the offers of assistance, the tears that flowed along with ours have all demonstrated to us the power of love. And we won’t ever forget that again.

Josh has said that he knows the only reason he is alive is that God saved him. I believe him. Thank you, God, for the gift of our son--again.

One footnote: Josh will attend Becca's prom Saturday night in Granger, accompanied by me. Who knows how long he'll be able to stay? We don't know. The important thing is that he is still here to go, and that is a blessing we all celebrate.