Day 289 | JUNE 26, 2022

Good evening, Friends, today is day 289 of our new and amazing life!

What a blessed day!

Sunday as many of you know, it used to be our favorite of all days, mainly because it was the one day I would take off from work, we would go to church as a family and after Mass, we would go for Brunch or Lunch.

Well, today was the first Sunday since the accident that we recreated the version of our favorite day, but we made it extra special today.

This day started early for me, baby Julien woke up at 3am, and I was there to get him back to sleep, which he did by 4:30am.

When 7am came, I was ready to start our day.

Sunday breakfast was light, and after everyone ate, it was almost time to leave for the 11 am Mass.

Today, VoVo and baby Julien decided to stay back. She is dealing with allergies and didn’t want to venture outside, so Charlie, London and I went to Mass.

Today was the first time that Charlie went to church, since the accident, it was a very special and meaningful Mass to our family, it was the first time we together were in God’s house and together we thanked him for his miracle, it was emotional and at the same time so comforting to be in front of our Parish, We have been parishioners of the Holy Comforter Catholic Church for over a decade and we are so grateful for the prayers and support given to use by our fellow parishioners, our priest was kind enough to acknowledge Charlie’s presence at Mass, and he also gave Charlie a special blessing, to prepare her soul and body for the next set of surgeries ahead of her.

Our Faith has been the guide and source of strength during this journey, and we will continue to rely on God’s mercy and all sacraments from the Catholic Church to be our guide as we move on to the next phase of our journey.

After Mass we made our way to Lunch, and we chose to once again go to the Dairy Market. They make it very accessible and easy to enjoy our family time.

We also did an impromptu photo shoot, when a local publication had their photographer meet us at the dairy market for pictures for their story.

It was also nice to meet so many people that have learned about Charlie’s story, we are so grateful for each and every one of you that stop by to say hello, thank you!

Tonight, Charlie and I decided that we needed to have a special dinner before she goes back to the hospital.

To help you understand how special tonight’s dinner was, I have to go back to a few days before the accident.

I had made plans to take Charlie to marigold at Keswick Hall to celebrate the opening of Patch, that would had been the Tuesday after the accident (the accident happened on a Friday) , sadly, that dinner never happened because of the accident.

So, today we decided that we would go and have that dinner today! We made reservations at the fantastic Marigold and there we went, Charlie looked beautiful in her dress.

Tonight was truly the first time that Charlie and I went anywhere alone! No aid with us .

Many of you don’t know, but maybe 8 years ago, I was a manager at Keswick Hall, a luxury resort in Charlottesville, VA and that is where marigold is located.

It was an amazing dinner, the restaurant is gorgeous, the service impeccable and the food just fantastic!

We had the best time ever, we cried, we laughed, we dreamed and we looked back, it was one of the most intimate and deep conversations we ever had, it was simply amazing!

After we finished our desert and coffee, we made our way to our van, and as we walked past the hotel main entrance, I asked Charlie if she wanted to take a look, on the newly renovated hotel, and we went in for a quick tour, and it was stunning, Charlie loves decoration and she loved how tasteful and beautiful the hotel decor was, it was a treat to the eyes.

We finally left and came home, and on the way, we just couldn’t be more thankful for such an incredible night, and according to Charlie, tonight’s dinner did provide her a reminder of how amazing this new life is going to be, the simple fact that we had this dinner together tonight, it is proof that God is good and we are so grateful for this second chance.

Thank you for your prayers and kindness towards our family.

May God Bless You, have a good night.

André