- 1 week ago
You Have No Idea 2023
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00:27:56somebody had a day that they would pick up Evan and then with that person you
00:28:02had a specific routine that you did you know he is very regimented and no
00:28:07surprises and it might you only had him two hours I mean it wasn't a long block
00:28:12of time it's not about the hour as much as it is about the acceptance to give
00:28:21you the space that you need to do something normal and it's not about
00:28:25doing something special it's about doing something normal it gave Evan a social
00:28:30life and it gave Beth and Dennis their lives back too and I would accept help
00:28:36from anyone who had Evan's best interest at heart mine Dennis's Beth knew that he
00:28:42was tended and taken care of with someone who loved him and cared about him and
00:28:48he was yes still he is very intrigued I mean he's hysterical and you're so
00:28:54weird you had no idea I was one of the few people at that point that Evan was
00:29:01comfortable and Beth and Dennis were comfortable leaving him with me and I
00:29:08don't know where they went but they were doing something that night so Evan came up
00:29:13and stayed with me in my apartment Richard is a great baby sister
00:29:21baby sinner baby sinner and I was just letting him do his thing I think I was
00:29:27doing some kind of domestic drudgery but I was walking you know in and out of the
00:29:32bathroom and past him and and I just looked down at him watching him make faces in
00:29:37the mirror just constantly and I said Evan you're so weird he goes you have no
00:29:43idea he'd never put a sentence together in his life and I dropped whatever I had
00:29:49in my hand I turned around I was like it was like the exorcist I mean I didn't
00:29:53know what was happening come to find out and it took a while to figure it out this
00:29:57was in the Lion King it's so weird you have no idea and that's exactly where
00:30:06that came from here's your schedule
00:30:15so I will put this in his room every once in a while you'll see him reading it
00:30:19so he reads it kind of over and over and over again until he gets it in his head
00:30:22what it is he's supposed to be so that's pretty much the process a variety of
00:30:29responses that he might have as the day goes on in between now and when we pack
00:30:33our bags tomorrow the erasing of the schedule on his iPad is sort of like
00:30:39trying to say this is not going to happen to me if it's not on my iPad or it's
00:30:43not my schedule it's not going to happen
00:30:51do you like to go back do you like to go back go back
00:31:02I know listen I know you don't want to
00:31:09but don't be don't be mad or sad it's just for a couple of days
00:31:15I get it
00:31:16ouch
00:31:18I know
00:31:19I know
00:31:21shut up
00:31:22oh okay
00:31:25oh pack a bag
00:31:27yeah tomorrow
00:31:31you're going to have to go back pack a bag
00:31:33yeah tomorrow
00:31:35okay
00:31:42okay
00:31:42bag
00:31:43okay
00:31:44okay
00:31:47hmm
00:31:48hmm
00:31:49hmm
00:31:54when it was time to put him in public school
00:31:57we knew that he needed to be in a regular classroom
00:32:01how do you teach someone normal behaviors if they're not around normal behaviors
00:32:05and how do you get people to understand people with disabilities if they're not around them
00:32:11but he knew everything a kindergartener was supposed to
00:32:13he had some words
00:32:15we have never to this day acquired conversational language
00:32:19you cannot have a conversation with him
00:32:30I'm not thought I haven't figured it out yet but due to the language acquisition that we've done
00:32:35he has learned how to express himself and he can tell you what he wants and needs
00:32:41there were points I look back on it I must have been extremely naive because I thought
00:32:46someone would ask me like what would you like to happen to him as he enters public school
00:32:51so I'm thinking okay he knows all the stuff yes he doesn't can have a conversation with him
00:32:57yes he continues to have sensory issues but I still on the other hand say he deserves to be included
00:33:06in a classroom
00:33:07he has the knowledge and that's his least restrictive environment which was the law at the time
00:33:14and Beth knowing what she knew she knew her rights as a parent she knew district policy
00:33:23legally she had the right to have him in a regular classroom
00:33:27and request the school district to provide an aid to assist for him to be in the classroom
00:33:33so we go for the preschool meeting and the special education person from the public school said
00:33:40all right well Evan James will be placed in the self-contained classroom at so-and-so so-and-so
00:33:45I said pardon me?
00:33:48putting him in a self-contained special ed classroom was the only thing that the school district was offering
00:33:55and Beth was like no he's got to be in a regular classroom because he's going to emulate whatever behavior
00:34:02he's around
00:34:03none of those people were bad people this was an unusual situation it was an unusual request
00:34:10it was going to require things that had not been required before I understood that at the same time
00:34:19it was going to happen and so we came to an impasse that day
00:34:24let me say he went to the regular classroom with an aide
00:34:30she said there's no way Missy's going to be able to do this by herself so we had a Diane
00:34:34Smith as an aide
00:34:36we had Valerie Barnes as an aide and they came and they would sit with Evan to make sure that
00:34:42he was on task
00:34:43but they also would help the other students so it wasn't just Evan
00:34:47and then there were other students that came and she was somebody that those parents could go and talk to
00:34:54and learn from consequently through the years there was lots of training that was done and
00:35:00several students with autism ended up at Hugh Goodwin because of the training that those people had
00:35:07taken upon themselves to get and took seriously there were some people there some of the best
00:35:13classroom teachers and therapists that I have ever met no matter where I've been in this country
00:35:18really growing up with him in school was where I learned or I was impacted most by him
00:35:23There weren't very many children like Evan at the time
00:35:26That wasn't something that the world really knew about and especially El Dorado
00:35:29But I do think that now that his impact on
00:35:33everyone's awareness
00:35:35Has probably made a 360
00:35:37As Evan progressed to this we were going to take as many people with us as we could if you
00:35:42get the appropriate therapies and and that sort of thing
00:35:45You are going to have a better life. There is just no way around it. Mary Pat
00:35:50Was seeing that in her classroom. There were five of us that came together and wanted to create Hope Landing
00:35:57So a child with special needs. It was a one-stop shop
00:36:01But it serviced the whole family one just the child. It was the child's family
00:36:07By this time they're talking about it
00:36:09They're talking about water therapy and horse therapy and all those kinds of things that are really really making a
00:36:14difference for kids
00:36:15There was a movement and we were able to
00:36:18start planning for what we felt like would be a
00:36:23peaceful setting that provided
00:36:26Traditional as well as non-traditional therapies in support for entire families without being based on whether you could pay
00:36:34or not
00:36:34it was a
00:36:36huge idea for a small southern town to be able to pull that off
00:36:50So how's Evan been over the last 24 hours?
00:36:53Um, didn't go to sleep very well last night
00:36:56So it was kind of a late night
00:36:59and
00:37:00He was afraid when Paul took him for a nice of the day wasn't bringing him back to get his
00:37:03stuff
00:37:04So he's a little
00:37:07Nervous, but he hadn't
00:37:10Been terrible
00:37:15He can't help you much
00:37:17Go to the movies
00:37:19We'll try to go to the movies, but right now we need to pack your bag to go to the
00:37:22group home
00:37:24first
00:37:25Yes
00:37:33Okay, no one's gonna get it till you come back. I promise
00:37:37Shut up
00:37:43Listen, you need to pack your bag
00:37:46Pack a bag?
00:37:50Wow!
00:37:53Bob?
00:37:54Yes, yes, you have to go back because I've got things I have to do
00:38:02Pack your bag
00:38:03Pack your bag
00:38:04Pack your bag
00:38:11That's all?
00:38:16Mickey and Demo have a farm
00:38:20Okay
00:38:22He's the many individuals of Winnie the Pooh
00:38:25Okay
00:38:28That's all? No books?
00:38:30That's a no-no!
00:38:32Dr. Susan CPC
00:38:36The Cat in the Hat
00:38:38And Greenix and Ham
00:38:40Okay
00:38:41Now do you want a DVD player?
00:38:45What's next?
00:39:11I see
00:39:12I see
00:39:13Owl
00:39:13Do you?
00:39:16Owl
00:39:19Do you want this in here?
00:39:22Hob on Pop by Dr. Seuss
00:39:28That's it?
00:39:28That's it?
00:39:32That's it
00:39:32Group home first
00:39:34Yes, you're going to the group home tonight
00:39:35Yes
00:39:37Ready to go?
00:39:38Get Paul's truck and go to the movies
00:39:40We're gonna try
00:39:41We gotta try
00:39:43Okay
00:39:48Car
00:39:49We're gonna go in Paul's truck today, okay?
00:39:52Truck!
00:39:54I know we usually go in Mom's car but
00:39:56We're gonna go in Paul's truck today
00:39:58We can sit in the front of him
00:40:00You wanna sit up front or in the back?
00:40:04Okay
00:40:05Okay
00:40:06Au revoir
00:40:07Yeah
00:40:18One or two right?
00:40:26One or two right?
00:40:28One or three right?
00:40:46Okay, here we are
00:40:50Here's a cat at half
00:40:51I know, did you miss it?
00:40:54Uh, miss it?
00:40:55You did?
00:40:56You pretty happy?
00:40:57Andy?
00:40:58Andy?
00:40:59Yeah?
00:41:00All your movies?
00:41:01Wow.
00:41:06When I wish to make a wish, I wean my head and swish swish.
00:41:11Then I say, I wish for fish.
00:41:14Maggie fish, we are my dish.
00:41:16So, if you wish to wish a wish, and they swish for fish, we might ish wish dish.
00:41:22Would you make sure there's some toilet paper in there, please?
00:41:26Remember.
00:41:27Remember.
00:41:28Remember.
00:41:28Love me.
00:41:29Father said into the Holy Spirit.
00:41:30Father said into the Holy Spirit.
00:41:33You gonna do good?
00:41:34Do good.
00:41:35Yeah?
00:41:35Yes.
00:41:36Okay.
00:41:39Alright.
00:41:40You alright?
00:41:41When am I gonna see you?
00:41:43See you.
00:41:44I'm gonna pick you up.
00:41:47See ya Wednesday.
00:41:48Wednesday.
00:41:49Okay, good.
00:41:50Alright.
00:41:51You okay?
00:41:52You okay?
00:41:54Okay.
00:41:59Bye.
00:42:00Bye-bye.
00:42:01Love ya.
00:42:02Love you.
00:42:04Love you.
00:42:04See you later.
00:42:05Bye.
00:42:08Bye.
00:42:12Bye.
00:42:14Bye.
00:42:15We were progressing with Evan and, you know, we were dealing with each New Year's set of
00:42:21circumstances.
00:42:22Dennis was in a play, Dearly Departed and Dennis was getting very bad bruises.
00:42:28It got to the point where Dennis did show the bruises to Matt Calloway, his doctor.
00:42:33And Matt was immediately alarmed.
00:42:35A-P-L, and I can't tell you the A and the P, but the L is leukemia.
00:42:42Just me and my dad.
00:42:47That just pulled the rug out from under everybody because we did not, of course, leave that coming.
00:42:55Is Daddy's turn? Okay, Seventh's turn. You do it.
00:42:58For me personally, for the village, there was kind of a shift in focus
00:43:02from what we were going to do for people like him and in his future,
00:43:06and to, oh my goodness, now what are we going to do about this?
00:43:13My mom and dad, Aaron, Beth, and Dennis James.
00:43:19Dennis was, well, he was special. That's all I'm going to say.
00:43:27Sometimes you can just look at Evan and you can see Dennis.
00:43:32My eyes are blue, just like my daddy's.
00:43:38The village had to rally for this because we had Evan who needed attention,
00:43:43and now we had Dennis in the hospital for who knows how long in Little Rock.
00:43:48Over the next three years, he continued to seek treatment.
00:43:55He had periods of remission.
00:43:57You know, you couldn't really explain to Evan what was going on.
00:44:01I mean, there wasn't a way to explain that kind of concept to Evan.
00:44:08Daddy.
00:44:09It was just a very rough time.
00:44:11But once again, stupid me, I felt like it wouldn't be easy, but we would make it.
00:44:21And so for three years, we did treatments.
00:44:24Friends would help go sit with Beth or take shifts to go sit with Dennis
00:44:28so that he wasn't by himself.
00:44:31And we see the reemergence of a community of people
00:44:35willing once again to reach out and lift up and support and care with no judgments.
00:44:44We thought we were beating this.
00:44:46We really did.
00:44:46Against all odds, we thought we were beating the cancer.
00:44:50I mean, he endured a lot.
00:44:53But he still kept his sense of humor in the beginning.
00:44:56He did.
00:44:57But it was just painful to watch.
00:45:00For me, he was a constant in my life, a constant male in my life.
00:45:05And he meant a whole lot to me.
00:45:07Daddy.
00:45:09Daddy.
00:45:10It would have been a long shot if he would have had long-time survival
00:45:14with this form of leukemia.
00:45:19And he, I will say this.
00:45:23I've never seen anybody fight harder than he did to,
00:45:26because he knew what it would mean to Evan for him to, not me.
00:45:35I've walked and walked down the street before,
00:45:42where the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before.
00:45:48While at once there were several stories by,
00:45:54knowing I'm on the street where you live.
00:45:59And your overpowering feeling
00:46:05Just to know from how you are near
00:46:12The overpowering feeling
00:46:17That any second you may suddenly appear
00:46:26Because Dennis did die in the hospital,
00:46:28and Evan was not with me,
00:46:30there was going to have to be a communication of that.
00:46:33And so all the way home, I kept thinking,
00:46:35now, everything I know about Evan,
00:46:38I knew that he had some basic religious understandings.
00:46:41The Lord bless you and keep you.
00:46:43The Lord make his face shine and pray to you and graces to you.
00:46:46The Lord make your power with favor and give you his peace.
00:46:50Amen.
00:46:52And any time that I could communicate something with him
00:46:55in a picture or words,
00:46:57he was going to understand.
00:46:59So I came home and I got a picture board of heaven.
00:47:10What you would, you know, heaven.
00:47:12It was a clouds and the sky.
00:47:15And I got a picture of Dennis and a picture of an angel
00:47:20and a picture of Jesus.
00:47:23And I put them all together
00:47:25and explained to him that Dad had gone there.
00:47:30And he was with Jesus.
00:47:32And just like we didn't see Jesus,
00:47:34we wouldn't see Dad anymore.
00:47:36Now, I will say this.
00:47:38There's a difference between death and grief.
00:47:42R-E-D.
00:47:44Spells red.
00:47:50Roll two, scene richer, take one, mark.
00:47:53Beth, interview B, take one.
00:47:56When Dennis died,
00:47:58we all felt like we had the rug pulled out from under us.
00:48:01And for months,
00:48:04I mean, many, many months,
00:48:07we were just walking around like zombies.
00:48:12A lot of Evan's therapies early on
00:48:16were about emotions.
00:48:18We did a lot of emotion expression therapy.
00:48:22He had to learn to read people's faces.
00:48:25And so he would look at me
00:48:27and I would know that when he looked at me
00:48:28that I had to have a look on my face
00:48:30that I was calm,
00:48:32that I wasn't sad,
00:48:33that I was okay,
00:48:34and I was going to make it through the day.
00:48:36And he would really examine me.
00:48:39He really reads people's expressions.
00:48:44Everything he does is in pictures.
00:48:47Either in his mind,
00:48:48he will take an instamatic photograph
00:48:51of something on a television.
00:48:59Since the beginning,
00:49:01Evan has been obsessed with taking photographs.
00:49:03He has always taken pictures of the TV screen
00:49:07and put them together.
00:49:09We can't quite figure out what it means.
00:49:12But to him,
00:49:13he's putting a sequence of things together.
00:49:15He takes expressions,
00:49:18a series of expressions,
00:49:20many times.
00:49:20And then there's always a,
00:49:23like, a couple blank screens,
00:49:25like that's the end of that movie
00:49:27or an end of that thought
00:49:28before he begins another series.
00:49:36He missed his daddy.
00:49:37And so he was carrying these 50,
00:49:39zero to 50 pictures.
00:49:41They were numbered.
00:49:43And I said,
00:49:44Beth, what do they mean?
00:49:45She said,
00:49:45I don't know.
00:49:46So she went somewhere one day
00:49:48and I said,
00:49:48Evan,
00:49:49let's put your pictures out.
00:49:50So he laid them out in order
00:49:52on the kitchen floor.
00:49:53And I said,
00:49:53give me words for these pictures.
00:49:57Oh, my gosh.
00:49:58Talk about communicate.
00:50:00Don't say he can't communicate.
00:50:02It started out with pictures from home,
00:50:06happy times,
00:50:07and then it was a series of scenes
00:50:09from The Lion King.
00:50:11And it was sad,
00:50:13cry,
00:50:14sleep,
00:50:15cry.
00:50:16I mean,
00:50:17he had a word
00:50:18for every picture.
00:50:21It was amazing.
00:50:23We spent one Saturday
00:50:24and we put it together
00:50:26in a book
00:50:26called Being My Dad.
00:50:28I miss my daddy.
00:50:32I lost,
00:50:35I wish
00:50:36that
00:50:37he were
00:50:39still
00:50:40living
00:50:41at the
00:50:42new house
00:50:43with
00:50:44mama
00:50:45and me.
00:50:46He
00:50:47was so smart
00:50:48to go and find that
00:50:49and
00:50:49give words
00:50:51to his emotions.
00:50:53and then he could
00:50:54convey it
00:50:55to someone else.
00:50:56That just blew me
00:50:57out of the water.
00:50:59One of my favorite
00:51:00examples
00:51:01of the village
00:51:02rallying,
00:51:04Evan's,
00:51:04the birthday
00:51:05after Dennis
00:51:07had died,
00:51:08Beth asked
00:51:09all her
00:51:09teenage friends
00:51:11if they would dress
00:51:11as Disney characters
00:51:13and come to her house
00:51:15and be part of
00:51:15Evan's birthday party.
00:51:17so there was
00:51:17Cinderella,
00:51:19Tigger,
00:51:20all of these
00:51:20like eight to ten
00:51:22people showed up
00:51:23in costumes
00:51:23just to make
00:51:25Evan happy
00:51:26and feel better.
00:51:32There was a change.
00:51:33With Dennis' death
00:51:34there was a change.
00:51:35It kind of
00:51:36turned my focus
00:51:38from
00:51:40training,
00:51:41teaching,
00:51:41to
00:51:44planning
00:51:45for a future
00:51:46because I'm
00:51:47all he has.
00:51:49It was apparent
00:51:50to me
00:51:51life skills,
00:51:52a safe environment
00:51:53were going to become
00:51:54the important things,
00:51:57not whether or not
00:51:58he was in
00:51:58a normal classroom.
00:52:07What'd she do?
00:52:16Did you do good?
00:52:17Do good.
00:52:18You did?
00:52:19Was it okay?
00:52:20Is it okay?
00:52:21Yeah?
00:52:22Yeah.
00:52:22Did you miss me?
00:52:23I missed me.
00:52:23Yeah.
00:52:25You gonna go home
00:52:26with me?
00:52:26Go home.
00:52:27Okay,
00:52:27get your stuff out.
00:52:28Get your home,
00:52:29get your stuff out.
00:52:30He's been very good today.
00:52:32He has.
00:52:33Well, thank you
00:52:33for helping me.
00:52:34You're welcome.
00:52:40She gonna help him,
00:52:41isn't she?
00:52:43I love to eat,
00:52:43but I don't need to eat.
00:52:45How about you?
00:52:46Good night.
00:52:48Your class is pretty
00:52:49small today.
00:52:50Come on, yeah.
00:52:51We've got two more.
00:52:53Great.
00:52:55All right,
00:52:56let's go.
00:52:56See you, Evan.
00:52:58See you, Evan.
00:52:59Bye.
00:52:59Hey, Evan.
00:53:01Hey, Evan.
00:53:03Come here.
00:53:08Say, see you next week.
00:53:09See you next week.
00:53:10See you next week.
00:53:11See you next week, Evan.
00:53:12Bye.
00:53:14Bye.
00:53:14Bye.
00:53:15Bye.
00:53:15After Dennis passed away,
00:53:17it had been a couple of years,
00:53:20and Beth's sister Heidi was talking with Paul's sister, Laura.
00:53:26They had been friends from high school
00:53:27and knew that Beth and Paul had dated many years before.
00:53:33I met Beth in the spring of 1983 at Eldorado High School.
00:53:40Heidi, my sister, is in the same class with his sister,
00:53:44and we all have to go to this event.
00:53:46It was love at first sight.
00:53:48She walked up the sidewalk.
00:53:50I was introduced to her.
00:53:52I mean, it's like the conversation never ended.
00:53:54And so we dated for some months,
00:53:57and then we got engaged.
00:54:00You know, isn't that what you do when you're in your 20s?
00:54:02We considered getting married,
00:54:04and things just did not work out for us at that point in time.
00:54:10And we were mutually hurt by that and parted as friends.
00:54:16I didn't see her again until 2007.
00:54:20Paul's sister, in fact, had returned to Eldorado
00:54:23to teach nursing at the community college.
00:54:25So I asked about Paul,
00:54:27and, you know, things didn't work out exactly as he had intended,
00:54:31but he's got five children.
00:54:33I said, oh, my gosh.
00:54:36I think she was thinking he still has no sense at all, you know,
00:54:41with that many kids.
00:54:42I said, well, you tell him that I ask about him.
00:54:47I was coming down for a visit,
00:54:48and Heidi and my sister, Laura,
00:54:52decided that they wanted to get Beth and I
00:54:56back in the same room together.
00:54:59What if next time Paul comes to town,
00:55:04we fix him up, we all go out to dinner?
00:55:06And she goes, oh, it would make him so uncomfortable.
00:55:09Wouldn't that be great?
00:55:10Paul's going to come to Eldorado,
00:55:13and we're all going to go out to eat,
00:55:16and we want you to come along.
00:55:17And I said, have you lost your mind?
00:55:19And I said, oh, come on, come on.
00:55:22It'd be fun to catch up.
00:55:24It had only been a year since Dennis had died,
00:55:26and no one was breaking down my door,
00:55:28but I had made it pretty clear that I was unable at this time
00:55:32to move forward in that sense.
00:55:36And I went to dinner with my sister at Fay Ray's,
00:55:39and I did not know what to expect.
00:55:42And she walks in.
00:55:44She and I looked at each other,
00:55:46and she sat down by me.
00:55:49We all sat to where she was going to have to sit beside him.
00:55:53And the conversation just started all up again
00:55:57and never stopped.
00:55:59They never once put us in the conversation.
00:56:03They never want, we weren't there.
00:56:06She said, would you like to come back to my house
00:56:10so we can keep talking and you can meet Evan?
00:56:15That was my first,
00:56:17that was my first encounter with Evan that night.
00:56:23There is something very soothing about that that you know.
00:56:28I've said very often that he probably saved my life,
00:56:32and he probably did.
00:56:33I think when I left that evening,
00:56:34we both realized it was divine intervention.
00:56:38I didn't know really if I would see him again,
00:56:41and it wasn't too much later that I got an email from him.
00:56:45That was back in the days when you emailed, you know,
00:56:47this is before texting and stuff like that.
00:56:50And, you know, he kind of said,
00:56:52I'm probably going to keep on emailing you and calling you
00:56:55and probably coming to El Dorado because I lost once.
00:57:00I'm not going to lose twice.
00:57:04I can't imagine coming into all this like Paul did.
00:57:09I mean, he's got five of his own,
00:57:11and yet Evan was part of Paul.
00:57:15Even though he didn't know crap about what to do about Evan,
00:57:20you know, he was stunned by the whole thing,
00:57:23he never really shied away from that.
00:57:26My own relationship with Evan took a very, very long time
00:57:32to become what it is today.
00:57:36All right, are you ready to go get an icy?
00:57:38Yes.
00:57:39Yes?
00:57:40Would you like my phone?
00:57:42Yeah?
00:57:43Austin and Weston.
00:57:45Not this weekend.
00:57:47Not.
00:57:48Next time.
00:57:48Not yet.
00:57:50Got to call.
00:57:54There's a green triangle.
00:57:55Uh-huh.
00:57:58There's a green triangle.
00:58:00Uh-huh.
00:58:01There's an orange and some set down.
00:58:03Right.
00:58:04I understood his habits
00:58:07and got those down a lot quicker
00:58:10and a lot easier than I did
00:58:13his form of communication.
00:58:16When I first started going back and forth,
00:58:18Beth and Evan would drive me to the airport.
00:58:20I remember one time in particular,
00:58:23towards the beginning of all this,
00:58:26he's walking back and forth in front of me
00:58:28with a book in his hand,
00:58:29and it's a book about going to the airport
00:58:33and what you do when you go,
00:58:36you know, we go to the airport to take trips.
00:58:39And I realized in the middle of all this,
00:58:41he was ready for me to go.
00:58:44I won't say everything he did was purposeful,
00:58:47but I would say the majority of it was.
00:58:50I mean, he had a little message and everything,
00:58:54really, especially there in the beginning
00:58:55that we did, we did together.
00:58:57Especially if it's a verbalization
00:58:59or if it's a direct interaction with a person.
00:59:02He is trying to say something.
00:59:05So if he doesn't have the words for what he says,
00:59:08then he's going to replace it with an action
00:59:11or some kind of verbalization
00:59:13trying to get you to understand what it is he wants.
00:59:16Christmas is my favorite holy day.
00:59:21Look at you in the mirror.
00:59:24I love it!
00:59:25I love it!
00:59:27I knew you would!
00:59:33Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
00:59:37Had a very shiny nose
00:59:41And if you ever saw it
00:59:45You'd even see it blows
00:59:49They won foggy Christmas Eve
00:59:54And Santa came to say
00:59:57Rudolph with your nose so bright
01:00:02Want to die my sleigh tonight
01:00:06Then how the reindeer locked him
01:00:09As shewered out with me
01:00:12Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
01:00:17Hear your down-to-death story
01:00:26Great job!
01:00:33When we did begin to see each other on a consistent basis
01:00:36We made a promise
01:00:37That no matter what we did
01:00:40Not his children or mine would suffer
01:00:43We made a commitment to, you know, pursue this relationship
01:00:51I was kind of getting used to the idea that he might be my boyfriend or something
01:00:54But I was not interested initially in, like, getting married
01:01:00I mean, I had a job
01:01:01I was an elder writer
01:01:01He was in St. Louis
01:01:02Paul Evan was in school
01:01:04I was in no way going to leave that for that
01:01:08So I told Paul, I said, I'm never going to meet your kids
01:01:10Come when you can
01:01:11We'll have a great time
01:01:13And that's where this thing is going
01:01:14And I said, because I'm not
01:01:16I can't meet those kids
01:01:24Paul's kids were wonderful
01:01:25You know, they love him
01:01:27I mean, he is their brother
01:01:29But now, if you ask him who they are
01:01:31He's going to list them in order
01:01:32Grace, Kenny, Jackson, William, Caroline, Austin, Waston, and Dan
01:01:37Ready, set, go!
01:01:40My dad did give us a forewarning
01:01:43And said, she's going to be here when you get home from school
01:01:45And we got home from school
01:01:47And she was just sitting at the counter
01:01:48And her makeup was perfect
01:01:50And everything was just together
01:01:52And she just had, like, a
01:01:54She just has, like, a presence
01:01:55And she was very striking from the get-go
01:01:57That was my first impression
01:01:59It was, like, an adjustment for us
01:02:02Obviously, someone new in the house with her and Evan
01:02:04But it's also, like, an adjustment for her
01:02:06Because we're a big adjustment
01:02:08We're us, you know?
01:02:09Like, it's a big adjustment
01:02:10Yeah
01:02:10There was five of us
01:02:12And most of us were teenagers
01:02:13And my dad's not a low-maintenance kind of guy
01:02:17And we are not exactly, um
01:02:19We got some maintenance to us
01:02:21Yeah, we
01:02:22We weren't easy
01:02:23She told us a while back
01:02:26That she would hear us every once in a while going
01:02:28Where is she?
01:02:29Where is she?
01:02:30Where is she?
01:02:30Yeah, when she first was spending a lot of time up there
01:02:32And we didn't know her very well
01:02:33We'd all kind of
01:02:34Or if we wanted something
01:02:36We'd send, like, one
01:02:37Usually the cutest kid out
01:02:39You go, you go
01:02:40It really was like she never skipped a beat
01:02:42I'm sure she did
01:02:43In her own private time
01:02:45But to us
01:02:46It just seemed very
01:02:47I don't know
01:02:48It's just
01:02:49It's always been
01:02:50It's always felt natural
01:02:52Like how it should be
01:02:54And then came the time for them to actually meet Evan
01:02:58And, you know, kids are just different
01:03:00They're just resilient
01:03:03Whenever we actually got down there
01:03:05Beth was talking to us
01:03:06And Evan just came in with these pile of sugar cookies
01:03:11I think there were like six of them
01:03:12She just turned around and saw and goes
01:03:14No, sir
01:03:15And took, like, three or four of them away
01:03:17And he started following her around the house saying
01:03:20No, sir
01:03:21Yeah
01:03:21No, sir
01:03:23And that was
01:03:24That was our first
01:03:24That was my first impression
01:03:26That was my first time ever seeing Evan
01:03:28My first experience
01:03:28And I just thought
01:03:30He's mad
01:03:31This is what it is
01:03:33Let's go
01:03:33I think at first
01:03:35We put a big emphasis on just
01:03:37Making everything as smooth as possible for him
01:03:39We went about our regular lives
01:03:41And you just added in this other variable
01:03:44They never really seemed to skip a beat
01:03:47I think it says something for them
01:03:49You know, what kind of people they are
01:03:50There was a lot of change growing up
01:03:52A lot of moving around
01:03:54Anything that's different just kind of
01:03:57Flows naturally
01:04:02Beth made a book
01:04:04About people getting married
01:04:06People in her family
01:04:08People in my family
01:04:10Her and Dennis
01:04:11People in the Disney movies
01:04:13Or the other movies he's like
01:04:14Getting married
01:04:16When we got married
01:04:18It was kind of generally accepted that
01:04:20As crazy as it would seem
01:04:22I would stay in El Dorado
01:04:23And he would stay in St. Louis
01:04:26We just decided that's the way it was going to be
01:04:28So we still were doing school
01:04:30Going to work
01:04:31Trying to travel on the weekends
01:04:33That's a lot
01:04:34I was committed
01:04:36And so was Beth
01:04:37We were committed to both Evan
01:04:38And we were committed to the five other children
01:04:41It was a balance in making all that work
01:04:44So we finally decided
01:04:46That when Evan turned 18
01:04:48And didn't have to go to school anymore
01:04:49I would quit my job
01:04:51And we would have to
01:04:52Evan and I would have to go to St. Louis
01:04:56I was sort of excited
01:04:58We were going to go to a big city
01:05:00I had done a lot of research
01:05:02There was an autism community there
01:05:03We'll be able to take advantage of all sorts of resources
01:05:06That we haven't had
01:05:08Or maybe there's things I don't know about
01:05:11Maybe we had a better chance
01:05:13Of finding facilities
01:05:15And post-high school life
01:05:18For him
01:05:19That did not turn out exactly as planned
01:05:25One evening
01:05:26It was just Beth and Evan and I
01:05:28And he kept turning off the TV
01:05:31And I would turn it back on
01:05:33And he would turn it off
01:05:34And I would turn it on
01:05:35And he would turn it off
01:05:36And Evan just reaches down
01:05:38And grabs my hand
01:05:41And grabs my wedding ring
01:05:44And starts trying to pull it off my finger
01:05:46Evan made it very clear
01:05:47That he was mad about the whole darn thing
01:05:50And he was mad at Paul
01:05:51For having caused the whole darn thing
01:05:55And he wasn't happy
01:05:57Evan had been in his room there
01:06:00At the St. Louis house
01:06:02And for some reason
01:06:05I walked into his room
01:06:06There was one of the books
01:06:09That I think Mary Pat had made for him
01:06:12Me and my dad
01:06:13It was about him and his father
01:06:18And he had been looking at it
01:06:27Dad
01:06:30He didn't want to forget him
01:06:33That moment
01:06:34As hard as it was
01:06:36I think it helped him
01:06:38Get some things out of his system
01:06:40That he couldn't communicate
01:06:44I really think it helped me
01:06:46To make sure
01:06:47I wasn't afraid to talk about
01:06:49His dad to him
01:06:51Because before all that
01:06:52I didn't
01:06:53After all that I did
01:06:55That was our moment
01:06:56And it was pretty damn good
01:06:59After all that
01:07:01She had every intention
01:07:03Of creating a life in St. Louis
01:07:06And there just
01:07:07It never was that comfortable
01:07:09Of a fit
01:07:10Especially for Evan
01:07:12When it didn't work
01:07:14I think it rocked us
01:07:16On our heels a little bit
01:07:17He would just look at me like
01:07:18What are you doing mother?
01:07:20What are you thinking?
01:07:20I mean I could almost see that
01:07:22In his face
01:07:22When I would pick him up
01:07:23Like
01:07:25What are we doing here?
01:07:27And he would just look at Beth
01:07:28And go
01:07:28Pack a bag
01:07:30Airplane
01:07:30It's like
01:07:31Take me home now
01:07:32You know
01:07:33He didn't have a life
01:07:34Outside of the house at all
01:07:36And he's totally used to that
01:07:37Go anywhere in the community
01:07:38And know people
01:07:39And they know him
01:07:40And
01:07:40I think in retrospect
01:07:41It was a lot to expect
01:07:44Of Evan
01:07:44And he did his best
01:07:46To adjust
01:07:47Till he just couldn't
01:07:50His body literally
01:07:51Just had stress responses
01:07:53I know he had seizures
01:07:54He was kind of
01:07:55Taken away from
01:07:56Everything he knew
01:07:57Growing up
01:07:57And I get
01:07:58The way I think about that
01:07:59For me is like
01:08:00I mean like
01:08:01Would it bother you?
01:08:03Probably you know
01:08:04And there you go
01:08:05In retrospect
01:08:06I feel kind of stupid
01:08:09Having thought
01:08:11That he was going to be happy
01:08:12Or that we could find
01:08:13All those things
01:08:14That I perceived in my mind
01:08:15Had to have been missing
01:08:17From our experience
01:08:18And the one thing
01:08:19That we really needed
01:08:20We already had
01:08:22I don't know
01:08:23That Eldorado
01:08:24The place is like
01:08:26What's home to him
01:08:26As much as the people there
01:08:28And getting pulled from that
01:08:30Was really hard for him
01:08:32I think
01:08:32He missed his community
01:08:34He missed his friends
01:08:35And it was almost like
01:08:37We had instilled in him
01:08:39So much community
01:08:41We made the decision
01:08:45Albeit sadly
01:08:46That the best thing
01:08:48For Evan would be
01:08:49To come back down
01:08:50To Eldorado
01:08:52Paul said to me
01:08:54Pack your bags
01:08:56And take him home
01:08:57It wasn't me
01:08:58Having to go to him
01:08:59And say
01:09:00I gotta email him
01:09:01I gotta go
01:09:03He came to me
01:09:04And so we
01:09:07Packed our bags
01:09:08And came home
01:09:12And so I went to work
01:09:14At the community college
01:09:16To create a pilot program
01:09:18In Eldorado, Arkansas
01:09:20To include people
01:09:23With developmental disabilities
01:09:25On the college campus
01:09:26Beth contacted me
01:09:28She was the new program director
01:09:30Over the Stepping Stones program
01:09:31A newly formed program
01:09:33At the college
01:09:34That gave people
01:09:37The opportunity
01:09:38To do things
01:09:39That they would never
01:09:40Have got to do
01:09:41On their own
01:09:42My friend Jason here
01:09:43Had always wanted
01:09:44To be a firefighter
01:09:45So through the
01:09:47Stepping Stones process
01:09:48Jason was able
01:09:50To train
01:09:51And he was able
01:09:52To come up
01:09:53To the Eldorado Fire Department
01:09:55And be a firefighter
01:09:56With us
01:09:57She's a mentor
01:09:58To me
01:09:59And
01:10:00She helped me
01:10:02Get an internship
01:10:04And
01:10:06I'm
01:10:07Happy
01:10:08That she did
01:10:10They made
01:10:11As big an impact
01:10:13On me
01:10:13As I made on them
01:10:14I think
01:10:14But I'm also
01:10:16Feel incredibly lucky
01:10:18To have been a part of that
01:10:20For even a short time
01:10:21In the meantime
01:10:22At my house
01:10:25My issues
01:10:26With my job
01:10:27Were still unsolved
01:10:31And then he goes
01:10:32To college
01:10:33One day
01:10:34Evan and his mom
01:10:35Got in the car
01:10:37And drove to a place
01:10:38Called
01:10:40Me know ya
01:10:43I was getting
01:10:44A little more desperate
01:10:46A little more afraid
01:10:47Something would happen
01:10:48To me
01:10:48And now we weren't
01:10:49In St. Louis
01:10:50And now Evan
01:10:51Was by himself
01:10:52And
01:10:54I'm getting old
01:10:55And he didn't have
01:10:56The patience
01:10:56With his old mother
01:10:57And you know
01:10:58There were a lot of
01:10:59Dynamics going on
01:11:00Because we were there
01:11:01Just me and him
01:11:04You want to just
01:11:05Stay here all day
01:11:08She comes home
01:11:09From church one Sunday
01:11:10And she calls me
01:11:11And she says
01:11:12I ran into
01:11:13Ralph Weiser
01:11:14At church today
01:11:15He had been
01:11:16Instrumental in creating
01:11:18Programming for people
01:11:19With developmental disabilities
01:11:21That sort of stuff
01:11:21In Magnolia
01:11:22I had no idea
01:11:24That in my little backyard
01:11:26There was this little place
01:11:28Over here
01:11:28And he said
01:11:29I'd like to show you
01:11:29Around some
01:11:30And I pulled up
01:11:32To this place
01:11:32And there was
01:11:33A day program
01:11:33For preschoolers
01:11:35With developmental disabilities
01:11:36And adults
01:11:37She went over
01:11:38To look at it
01:11:38And it was
01:11:39The perfect situation
01:11:40For Evan
01:11:40All of the group homes
01:11:42That I had been
01:11:42Interested in looking at
01:11:44People shared rooms
01:11:45And I knew
01:11:46That Evan James
01:11:47Was never going to
01:11:48Share a room
01:11:48With anyone
01:11:49And he said
01:11:50Yeah there's five rooms
01:11:51On one side
01:11:51And five rooms
01:11:52On another
01:11:52I said
01:11:52You mean
01:11:53Everyone has
01:11:54Their own room
01:11:55Yeah
01:11:56Well of course
01:11:57Monday morning
01:11:57I was on the phone
01:11:58And I said
01:11:59I might be interested
01:12:00Some time
01:12:01In Evan getting
01:12:02On the list
01:12:03To live in the group home
01:12:04And maybe
01:12:06Go to the day program
01:12:07And she said
01:12:08Beth
01:12:08From what I understand
01:12:09Evan's at the top
01:12:10Of the list
01:12:13And she said
01:12:14Evan
01:12:14When men turn 21
01:12:16They go to college
01:12:17In Magnolia
01:12:18So you are going
01:12:19To college in Magnolia
01:12:21Is how it started
01:12:24You can guess
01:12:25A house
01:12:26Just around the corner
01:12:28From Evan's college
01:12:29There's a beautiful
01:12:29House
01:12:30Where really nice
01:12:31People live
01:12:31Honestly the first time
01:12:33She took him over
01:12:34To see the group home
01:12:35And we were so nervous
01:12:36About that
01:12:37He met everybody
01:12:38He saw his room
01:12:39He saw the whole house
01:12:41And he just
01:12:42Turned to Beth
01:12:43And said
01:12:43I love it
01:12:44They asked Evan
01:12:45If he would like
01:12:46To live there
01:12:46Evan and Mama
01:12:47Decided it would be
01:12:48A great place to live
01:12:50The plan sort of
01:12:51Happened to me
01:12:52And when it did
01:12:53I felt okay
01:12:57And I had never
01:12:58Felt okay
01:12:59About it
01:12:59And then she
01:13:01Fixed up his room
01:13:02Of course
01:13:02The cutest room
01:13:03With the cat
01:13:04And the hat
01:13:04And Dr. Seuss
01:13:05And at first
01:13:07It was just a few days
01:13:08It was a slow
01:13:09Integration
01:13:11I got your medicine
01:13:12I'm going to take it
01:13:12In there
01:13:13Put it up
01:13:14Put it up
01:13:15Are you good?
01:13:17Very good
01:13:19I was as scared
01:13:21For him to do it
01:13:22As he was
01:13:23To do it
01:13:23And so our transition
01:13:26Was very slow
01:13:27For him
01:13:28Even spending the night
01:13:29Evan is going
01:13:31To be able
01:13:31To go to Magnolia
01:13:33And have a chance
01:13:35To become as independent
01:13:36As life will allow him
01:13:37To be
01:13:38But something did happen
01:13:41About this time
01:13:44Boom
01:13:44We find out
01:13:46That Evan's got Crohn's
01:13:49About 40% of people
01:13:51With autism
01:13:52Also have Crohn's disease
01:13:53He was in excruciating pain
01:13:55And I had no idea
01:13:58What to do with him
01:14:00Hospitalizations
01:14:01And procedures
01:14:02And illness
01:14:03And weight loss
01:14:04He was developing
01:14:06Rectal abscess
01:14:08That were requiring
01:14:11Incredibly painful surgery
01:14:12And I'm like
01:14:13Oh great
01:14:14You know
01:14:14We got autism
01:14:15We have seizures
01:14:16And now we have this
01:14:19He learned
01:14:20Well if I don't eat
01:14:21I don't go to the bathroom
01:14:23So maybe I won't eat
01:14:24I mean he was just
01:14:26Miserable
01:14:27Once again
01:14:28Here's Beth
01:14:29Who gets one of the
01:14:31Over the door
01:14:32Shoe racks
01:14:33And that's Evan's medical
01:14:35So he could tell her
01:14:37What he needed
01:14:38Like she would have
01:14:40The different creams
01:14:41The gloves
01:14:41And what do you need
01:14:43And what do you need
01:14:43What do you want
01:14:44So he could help
01:14:45Communicate what he needed
01:14:47So at that point
01:14:48We took Evan back
01:14:49To St. Louis
01:14:51You would start to get
01:14:53A handle on things
01:14:53And then they'd call you
01:14:54Up on the phone
01:14:55At work
01:14:55And say
01:14:56We just did a scan on him
01:14:57And his appendix
01:14:58Is about to rupture
01:14:59You know
01:15:00You have to get him
01:15:01To the hospital
01:15:01Immediately
01:15:02I don't know
01:15:03How he did it
01:15:05It almost killed him
01:15:08In fact
01:15:09I'd never
01:15:11Seen her
01:15:12Almost to the point
01:15:12Of being hopeless
01:15:13I mean that's just
01:15:14Not Beth
01:15:14But she was about there
01:15:16But all of our
01:15:17People aligned
01:15:19Again
01:15:21From just
01:15:22Out of the blue
01:15:22To guide us
01:15:24Through another situation
01:15:25Crohn's is in remission
01:15:27He's gone from having
01:15:28To have monthly infusions
01:15:30To monthly injections
01:15:33It's still something
01:15:34That they have to
01:15:36Stay on top of
01:15:37But it is under control
01:15:38Right now
01:15:38He continues
01:15:39On that medicine today
01:15:41That is not easy
01:15:43On the body
01:15:44It creates quite
01:15:45A detriment
01:15:46To the immune system
01:15:49I noticed
01:15:49He was really
01:15:50Scratching his eyes
01:15:51And his ears
01:15:52A suppressed immune system
01:15:53Causes all sorts of problems
01:15:55So we have been fighting
01:15:56Here as of late
01:15:57Topical dermatitis
01:15:59That has affected
01:16:00His ears
01:16:01And his eyes
01:16:02Being kind of
01:16:03Unable to explain
01:16:04This to him
01:16:04He's really
01:16:05Rubbing his eyes
01:16:06And as he's
01:16:07Really digging in there
01:16:09He's scratching his corner
01:16:10And there's going to be
01:16:12Long term vision damage
01:16:13If he
01:16:15Rubs too hard
01:16:16Too long
01:16:17Same thing with his ears
01:16:18The written word
01:16:19Is very important
01:16:20In our family
01:16:21So we need to make sure
01:16:22That he continues
01:16:23To have access
01:16:24To that strength
01:16:25Actually
01:16:26I think it's time
01:16:26That we put some medicine
01:16:27In his eyes
01:16:28So
01:16:29Eye time
01:16:33Yes
01:16:39Eye time
01:16:39No
01:16:41You ready
01:16:43Ready
01:16:53Eye time
01:16:54Eye time
01:16:56Eye time
01:16:57Try not to for a minute
01:17:03Be gentle
01:17:04Yes
01:17:04Be very gentle
01:17:05Don't rub hard
01:17:08Beth always knew
01:17:10And Dennis too
01:17:11That Evan
01:17:12Was going to need
01:17:13Special attention
01:17:14All his life
01:17:15And that was one reason
01:17:17Dennis fought so hard
01:17:19With the leukemia
01:17:20You put his health issues
01:17:23His autism
01:17:25The death of his father
01:17:26Moving
01:17:27New and more health issues
01:17:32That's a lot
01:17:33That's a lot for anybody
01:17:35Evan has real autism
01:17:39And all the medical
01:17:40And emotional
01:17:41And disabling effects of it
01:17:44And yet
01:17:45There's something special
01:17:46About him
01:17:47And I don't even know
01:17:49How to put it into words
01:17:51He can do amazing things
01:17:52With that brain
01:17:53It's just not things
01:17:56That are going to
01:17:57Keep him from needing
01:18:00Someone to make sure
01:18:01He's always okay
01:18:05Look at me
01:18:06Look
01:18:08Nose
01:18:08Did you have a good week?
01:18:10Good week
01:18:11Good
01:18:11Good
01:18:12You ready to go home?
01:18:13Yes
01:18:13Alright
01:18:14Let's pick up your stuff
01:18:15Give it to your mom
01:18:17What is it?
01:18:19Alright
01:18:19Alright
01:18:21What is it?
01:18:24Alright
01:18:25Good
01:18:26Good
01:18:26I love it
01:18:28Good
01:18:29Okay
01:18:30I like that
01:18:30I like that
01:18:32What?
01:18:34Oh
01:18:37Santa Claus ornament
01:18:39Yeah, I thought that would be good too
01:18:51I have told all of my nieces and nephews
01:18:55My great nieces and nephews
01:18:57And my stepchildren
01:18:58And intend to tell their children
01:19:00If I live long enough
01:19:03That my only requirement of them
01:19:07Is that they go seen once a year
01:19:09And it can't be a holiday
01:19:11Because I figure there are so many of them
01:19:14That surely two of them will show up every month
01:19:17If they commit to that one time a year
01:19:20Going to Magnolia and taking Evan to dinner
01:19:22That's the only requirement
01:19:24That's the only requirement
01:19:24And if everybody does that
01:19:28Then a couple of times a month
01:19:30Evan gets to go out to dinner with someone he really cares about
01:19:33And if something really terrible is going on in his life
01:19:36Somebody will know
01:19:38I don't really see it as a responsibility
01:19:40And I never even saw it as a question
01:19:43I feel like Evan's village is going to go down to the next generation
01:19:48And I feel like he'll always have people
01:19:50We need to do our part
01:19:52Because he's impacted us so much
01:19:54And done so much for us in our lives
01:19:56That he doesn't even realize
01:19:57We're just going to have to take shifts
01:19:59You know, you're going to take care of him for three months
01:20:00He can move into the room next door
01:20:02I don't know, I'm not worried about it
01:20:03But like, I know for sure
01:20:05That there's a community behind Evan
01:20:06I have complete faith in that
01:20:08And I have faith that all of us will come together
01:20:11And do what's right at the end of that
01:20:12It's just what we would do for our brother
01:20:16Yeah
01:20:16There is no fear or worries
01:20:18About what the future looks like for Evan
01:20:19I feel like he is going to survive and thrive
01:20:23As the older generation moves on
01:20:25We'll make sure he's taken care of
01:20:27We just have really big shoes to fill
01:20:31Really big
01:20:37This story shows a pattern
01:20:41Of me running into just the right person
01:20:45Or just the right help
01:20:48Or just the right piece of information
01:20:51When it was necessary for me
01:20:55Which is, you know
01:20:58Maybe luck, maybe divine intervention
01:21:00Maybe whatever, I don't know
01:21:02But behind all of that
01:21:07I'm looking at the picture of these people
01:21:11And this is my family
01:21:14These people were the people that struggled through
01:21:17So that he learned to go to church
01:21:19And go to a restaurant
01:21:22And go to a family dinner
01:21:23And, you know, people call me out
01:21:25I can't take him anywhere
01:21:26Well
01:21:29Find these kind of people
01:21:31Who will accept you
01:21:33No matter what
01:21:36They're not your family
01:21:37You have to find them
01:21:38Because they're key
01:21:39For me
01:21:40It was these people
01:21:45And I owe them everything
01:21:51This commitment that Beth has
01:21:53To Evan
01:21:54You can't help but be moved by it
01:21:58You have no idea what it takes
01:22:00And you have no idea
01:22:02What kind of love that kid can provide
01:22:03He's taught us so much
01:22:07Through the whole thing
01:22:10You have no idea
01:22:12What love and work and dedication
01:22:15This took to get one person
01:22:19To the point he is today
01:22:22And that's one person
01:22:25What Beth is doing can be super impactful
01:22:28If the message can be spread
01:22:30Because there's a lot of people out there
01:22:32That don't have that support
01:22:34We have a movie star again, Evan?
01:22:36Movie star!
01:22:37I just think of how much
01:22:39My life has been enriched
01:22:41By knowing Evan
01:22:42And him being a part of my life
01:22:44I still get excited when I see him
01:22:47And when he comes up
01:22:48And gives me a kiss
01:22:50Or hugs my neck
01:22:51And says I love you
01:22:52Oh my gosh
01:22:54I just hope that
01:22:56People who have a Beth
01:22:58Or have an Evan in their life
01:23:00Take this and really help them
01:23:03One thing I hope people take away
01:23:05Is what a privilege it has been
01:23:09To be part of this story
01:23:14I think people found a common purpose
01:23:18And in this common purpose
01:23:20Was Evan
01:23:23So as it all
01:23:24As it ends
01:23:25As I said before
01:23:26What would I say to someone?
01:23:28There's so much to be
01:23:30Taken from a situation
01:23:31Like this
01:23:32It's not that
01:23:33You know
01:23:33Do you get tired?
01:23:35Heck yeah
01:23:35I'm gonna be tired by Sunday
01:23:37But
01:23:38As far as the life's experience
01:23:40I am different
01:23:42I am better
01:23:43I'm a better person
01:23:45So maybe
01:23:46You know when people say
01:23:47Oh you do everything for him
01:23:49You know
01:23:49I'm like
01:23:49Well maybe he saved me
01:23:51I don't know
01:23:53Who saved me?
01:23:57You've got a friend in me
01:23:59It's a favorite song
01:24:01You've got a friend in me
01:24:05When the road goes
01:24:07Wrap the head in your mind
01:24:10As the mountains from your nice warm bed
01:24:13We stick together and can see it through
01:24:16Cause you've got a friend in me
01:24:20Oh you've got a friend in me
01:24:26Some of the folks might be a
01:24:28Little bit smarter than I am
01:24:30Bigger and stronger too
01:24:32Maybe
01:24:34But none of them will ever love you the way I do
01:24:39It's me and you
01:24:41Boy as the years go by
01:24:46Our friendship will never die
01:24:50You're gonna see it's our destiny
01:24:57You've got a friend in me
01:25:08The end
01:25:09Good job
01:25:39You've got a friend in me
01:25:41You've got a friend in me
01:25:45You've got a friend in me
01:25:47You've got a friend in me
01:25:52You've got a friend in me
01:25:59You've got a friend in me
01:26:01You've got a friend in me
01:26:01You've got a friend in me
01:26:01You've got a friend in me
01:26:01You've got a friend in me
01:26:02You've got a friend in me
01:26:04You've got a friend in me
01:26:05You've got a friend in me
01:26:07You've got a friend in me
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