Malcolm Hollett

An inaugural message as I return to my blog after stepping down from my work at St. Joseph's Prep

August, 2015    The young man in the center of the photo is Malcolm Hollett, student of St. Bonaventure's High School, a Jesuit school in St. John's, Newfoundland.  Malcolm came to the Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia in March to learn how to walk again after a serious skiing accident.  After five months of rehab he is walking on crutches and his hard work has restored feeling to most of his lower body.   He, his parents (Phil and Elizabeth) and his sisters (Camilla and Cecilia)  recently returned to Newfoundland where Malcolm will continue his rehab.  We look forward to seeing him in Philadelphia in February when he returns for a refresher course at Shriner's.   The staff there and the hospitality of the Ronald McDonald House made all this possible.

When I first met Malcolm and prayed with him, I asked him what we should pray for and he paraphrased a line from the New Testament: "I want to walk."    His desire and God's love for him through family and caregivers has made his desire come true.   This is a young man with great grit and a great future.

November 2018:  After more than three years of hard work and consultation with rehab specialists, Malcolm now walks with one cane and can go miles if needed.    He still wears a simple brace on one foot and the next goal is the training of those bones and muscles.