Our Forever Inspiration, Connor's Story
Connor was born at 3 am on March 13, 2004. He was always a good baby. He was inquisitive, thoughtful, and full of charisma. He never met a stranger. He took a genuine interest in people and had the most beautiful smile. He also gave the best hugs - the kind that makes you feel like you’re the most important person in the world.
He was a sophomore at the University of South Florida and was finally starting to figure things out. He’d joined a fraternity where he’d found a strong brotherhood. He wanted to be his own business owner and had just become an entrepreneurial business major.
He read incessantly about how to start a business and I found countless how-to notes on his phone and in his apartment. He was living his best life. And then….that fateful night, he left his keys in a friend’s car and left on his electric scooter to go get them. It was just after 8 pm. I always checked his Life360 location before bed and noticed he was at the hospital. That was just after 9 pm. I tried calling. No answer. I called his dad to see if he knew. Had he taken a friend? Was he hurt? Surely, it was easy to explain if he’d just answer the phone. I immediately went to the hospital.
After a grueling hour of waiting, a team of doctors came in to see us. They explained that while riding his scooter, a car turned in front of him. He didn’t have time to react or stop. The blunt force trauma caused significant internal bleeding. It was too much for him to survive.
The next two hours were a blur. It was me holding his hand. Brushing his hair aside. Kissing his forehead. Telling him how much I love him. Asking him to open his eyes. Begging God to fix it. Pleading that He take me instead.
It was consoling my now barely 14-year-old and telling him how much his brother loved him. It was calling my mom, sister, and best friend. It was the beginning of a very long – lifelong – grief journey. ∞
