Herb Segars Photography Blog

In the United States, we often lose track of what holidays really mean. They become days off from work or just another day that’s great because we don’t have to do anything. For our family,Thanksgiving is different. Thanksgiving 2010 was especially different because of our son, Tom. He is recovering from a traumatic brain injury and we never expected him to be with us. Why he is here is something that our God can tell us because He has a plan for Tom. I don’t know what that plan is but I see things happen that I know happen because of Tom.

Tom has now completed more than 150 treatments in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Ronnie, Lynda and I see Tom on a daily basis. We see changes but they are very small and they are happening on a regular basis. This Thanksgiving, Ronnie’s brother, Matt, his wife, Felice and their grown children, John Francis and MaryGrace got to see Tom for the first time in nine months. We were curious as to how they viewed the changes in him.

Felice told Ronnie that she had to prepare herself to see Tom because Tom would normally be very quiet and she wasn’t sure how to talk to him. It is something that we see with many of Tom’s  friends. While he recovers, they don’t realize that Tom is there. If he knew you before his injury, he will know you now.

We all sat down around the Thanksgiving table and Ronnie asked Tom if he wanted to say grace. We didn’t want Tom to be uncomfortable about it so I asked him when he first arrived at the house. He told me that he would. Lynda did not know that he was going to do it. His “grace” was amazing. It came from the heart and he told us about the things that we had to be thankful for. I only wish that I had recorded it on video. We were all floored. Felice told me later that it was like “me saying grace.” Tom’s grace was heartfelt and it flooded us with emotions.

It made us all realize how much we had to be thankful for. It is hard for me to think about it without tears coming to my eyes.

Tom continued to amaze us as he participated in conversations with everyone. We talked about how amazing it is to try and comprehend how the light from the sun and stars takes as long as it does to reach us. How whenever we look into the sky, we are looking into the past. The light from the sun takes over eight minutes to reach the earth and the light from the closest star takes more than two light years to reach us. It is mind-blowing to think that every time we look at the stars, we are looking into the past.

Before we knew it, the day was at its end and everyone started to leave. Felice and MaryGrace and I talked for quite some time about the changes in Tom. They had not seen him in nine months and they were overwhelmed with the differences.

Tom’s hyperbaric oxygen treatments have made a huge difference in Tom. When I ask him about the changes, he says “I think more and I talk more.” We all hope that the improvements in Tom don’t stop. We experienced one of the most THANKFULL Thanksgiving’s ever.

© 2010, Herb Segars. All rights reserved.