Author's Note: This is the final chapter. It serves as an epilogue. Please review!

December 24, 2020

"Are you ready to do some chocolate dipping?" Lyla asked, as all six kids came into the kitchen after the Christmas Eve service at church.

"Yeah!" they all said. The chocolate fondue on Christmas Eve was a Garrity family tradition, and Jason and his parents had adopted it over the years.

"Remember, though, that it's very hot," Jason reminded the quads. They were now three, and were developing their own personalities. Caleb, the firstborn, was the leader of the group and liked to take charge, while Ryan, the smallest, usually was quiet and didn't like to make waves. Shea, the only girl, had a lot of "girly" interests, but was also as tough as ever and could hold her own against the boys. Austin, the youngest and biggest, usually was the troublemaker. If one of them was doing something naughty, it was usually him. Lyla had pointed out that each of the boys took after who their middle names were for. It was uncanny. They had certainly named them well.

Once the fondue was ready, all the Streets, all four grandparents, and Lyla's brother and sister had marshmallows on their forks, ready for dipping.

"Yum!" said Shea, who was sitting next to Maddie, now fourteen. Maddie and Shea had developed a close bond despite the almost eleven year age difference between them.

"Chocolate!" added Ryan.

"Let's get dipping," said Noah, now twelve. Noah had taken on the role of big brother well. His three younger brothers all looked up to him. As everyone dipped a marshmallow, Jason told the family, "I have an announcement to make."

"What is it?" asked his dad.

"You know how I've been working on my book for the past couple years?" Jason asked. Everyone nodded. "Well, my book is ready for publishing. It'll start being on the shelves in a few weeks."

"That's great, Jason!" said his mother. Everyone cheered.

"What's it called?" asked Maddie.

Jason smiled and said, "Back on the Street: My Journey of Reaching the Top, Losing It All, and Finding My Way Back." He then got out a copy to show them what the cover looked like. It showed three pictures, the first being from his interview alongside Coach Taylor just four days before the accident, with Maddie in his lap, the second of him lying on the field as the trainers got out to him, and the last being a recent family photo. The book was also filled with pictures from his life. His mother had saved a bunch of photos and newspaper articles, and this had not only helped him find pictures, but also with remembering some events.

Maddie opened it and flipped through. "Look. Chapter titles. See? 'My Junior Season', 'Twists and Turns', 'Monday Through Thursday', 'September 8th, 2006', 'Aftershocks', 'And a Child Shall Lead Them', 'Oh Happy Day...'"

"Cool!" said Noah. Noah then found a picture of Jason in action and showed Caleb, Ryan, Shea and Austin. "Look, see? Cool shirt, nice blue color, throwing the ball...Neat, isn't it?"

"Yeah," said Caleb.

Ryan looked and added, "Who is that?"

Lyla said, "What do you mean, who is that?"

"That's Daddy," added Jason.

"No, it's not," said Shea.

"Yeah," agreed Austin. "Daddy sits. He's standing."

"Well, Daddy used to stand," said Jason.

After a little while, Lyla told Maddie to gather everyone for the Bible reading.

"Okay," said Maddie. "Sit down," she told Lyla. After finding Noah, she told him, "Sit down." She found her aunt and uncle and told them, "Sit down. She found her grandparents and told them, "Sit down." She then told Jason, "Sit down."

"Umm..." said Jason, pointing out that he was always sitting.

"Oh, right," said Maddie. "Habit. Sorry." She then found all the quads and told them, "Sit down." Jason then read the Christmas story from the Bible and then the Garritys and Jason's parents left to call it a night.

It was soon time to put the quads to bed. Jason, Lyla, Maddie and Noah decided to each take charge of one.

Noah then asked Jason, "Dad?"

"What is it?"

"Maddie was wondering the other day, if you could go back in time, and not have tried to make that tackle, would you do it?"

"Absolutely not," said Jason, without hesitation. "Why would I want to change, even for a moment, the most significant event of my life? This journey has taught me so much, and I probably couldn't have learned those lessons otherwise."

Once Maddie and Noah had gone to bed, Jason reflected on his journey once again. He still remembered the moment he had learned the full extent of his injury. It was etched in his mind.

September 13, 2006

"The doctor is looking over the MRI results now," Jason's nurse told him. It was five days after Jason had been injured making a tackle, and the MRI of his spine would give a clearer picture of the prognosis. "Now, Dr. Kroll may seem very blunt, but he's going to give you the facts and not sugarcoat anything."

"Okay," said Jason. He knew that wasn't a good sign. Lyla was sitting by Jason, and his parents were on the other side, his mom holding Maddie.

Soon, the doctor came in. He started off by saying, "The MRI show damage to the cord at the C7-T1 juncture. It could be much worse. Jason, you're very fortunate that the fracture was low enough that you'll still be able to use your arms and hands."

Jason then asked the unanswered question. "What about my legs, Doc?"

Jason's mother said, "Well, we'll just keep praying, and then once you start physical therapy..."

Jason immediately cut her off, saying, "Ma." Then he added, "Look, Dr. Kroll, I just wanna know if I'm gonna be able to walk again. Please. I can take it. All you gotta do is tell me the truth." Jason was braced for anything, although deep down, he already suspected what the answer would be.

Dr. Kroll said, "Unfortunately, it does not look like you'll regain the use of your legs. So, the answer is no." The rest of the family broke down, but Jason remained stoic. He had suspected this from the start. So he was prepared to hear it. Still, hearing it made it a reality.

"Okay," said Jason.

Dr. Kroll then delivered another bombshell. "I think, though, that this was likely bound to happen eventually."

"What do you mean?" asked Lyla, still in shock.

"Look at this," said Dr. Kroll, showing them the MRI image. "See that? See how the spinal canal is nice and wide at the very top, but then right around the fifth cervical vertebra, it starts to narrow? And it doesn't start to widen again until around T-3? That's spinal stenosis."

"Couldn't that be a result of the injury, though?" asked Jason's dad.

"It's certainly possible," agreed Dr. Kroll. "But the stenosis goes past the injury site on both ends. That means it was likely present before the injury."

Jason was shocked. "How was this not known beforehand?"

"Many spinal stenosis patients have no symptoms at all," Dr. Kroll explained. "But this condition increases the risk of something like this happening."

This was a bombshell not even Jason had expected. Not only was he paralyzed, but he had also learned that he had unknowingly been a ticking time bomb for years.

"Hey," said Lyla. "Lost in thought again?"

"Yeah," said Jason.

"The last fifteen years have been quite a ride, huh?"

"Sure have," said Jason. "Could you have imagined this? Fifteen years ago, things were just getting started with Maddie."

"Crazy, huh?" said Lyla. "When you first got hurt, did you think we would be where we are today?"

"No," said Jason. "But that's life for you. Life will always give you those little surprises."

"Like the shock of having Noah after your injury, or the four-for-one deal we got with the quads?"

"Yeah," said Jason. "And even Maddie. Life's little surprises."

Jason and Lyla went to sleep. Tomorrow was Christmas. Although Jason's life hadn't gone the way he had initially planned, he and Lyla still had managed to make a good life and have the big family they had hoped for. The journey had been dark and difficult at times, and had had its ups and downs. But what a journey it had been.