It's been awhile, my friend....

Maybe so long that no one ever comes here to visit anymore. I don't know why that makes me so sad. This is not a happy place. This is not a blog like my others...there's no reason to make cute background designs or to change the fonts and colors of posts. There's no real reason to come here to smile...

So why am I here...I'm not sure really. I guess at this point this is the closest I can get to you Brian. I talk to you alot...especially now that I have Abby. I think about what you would think of her. Of what you would have said when we told you we were going to be parents. How much you would have loved her and how fun you would have been for her.

And I watch your sweet Livi grow up. And I feel sad that you aren't here. That you are missing her become this unbelieveable little lady. I know you aren't really missing her. That you are in heaven watching over all of us. That you are helping to bring these wonderful little experiences to us. I know that your life in heaven is so magical now. And you are whole.

But I still miss you....

Livi is really doing great. She misses you and talks about you often. I think you would be glad to hear that. That she will always be Daddy's little girl. In her mind, you are the greatest, the fastest, the strongest, the most perfect daddy ever. She will go through life always knowing you in that way and that is beautiful to me. You have a very special little girl.

So she is here with us for a couple of weeks. I know you know that.... :) she talks about you a lot. And she was telling me that her favorite picture of the two of you is the one that you are holding her in the palm of your hand. And I told her that was your favorite picture too. I remember Jessica telling me that when she brought it to the hospital. And I also think about how fitting that both of your favorites is the one where you are holding her in the palm of your hand....and I think that's just what you are doing now.

She wears your grateful dead tshirt to bed and she hums shakedown street...LOL I know you are proud of that. But most importantly she has such a sweet, innocent spirit. That reaches out and grabs you...and makes you smile. She makes me smile. And I know you are proud of her.

I'm sorry Brian. I'm sorry that you are missing this. I'm sorry you had to experience a difficult ending to a sometimes painful journey on this planet. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you....

But I'm glad I knew you here on earth and I look forward to seeing you in heaven one day.

Keep the party going until we get up there!

I love you
Jamie

PS. I'm glad you were there to welcome my dear sweet Brody home. I'm sure he was glad to see a friendly face. And it comforts me (and Livi) to know that y'all are together.

A Message from Jessica

Brian Hatton December 30, 1974 – April 1, 2007

There were so many things I wanted to say at Brian’s service, but I know that it would not have been audible, so I’d like to say them now. It has been very difficult for me to get my thoughts together, so please bear with me.

When I first met Brian it was mid-January ’98. I had just moved to GA and started working at Sidelines. It was the first bar environment I had working in. While I was training I was warned that Brian could be a jerk sometimes, but not to take it personally. He had no patience for airheaded servers who didn’t know what they were doing. My first impressions of him were that he was a complete jerk in serious need of a haircut. My first day at work he chased me out of the kitchen yelling at me because I had forgotten the honey mustard for the chicken fingers I was serving. Anyway, as time went on, we hung out more and I started to notice that jerk wasn’t so bad after all. One night I had picked up a shift on my day off. My sister Hollie was nine months pregnant and I wanted to be there for the birth so badly. At about 9 that night Hollie called and said I had better get to the hospital- she was ready to have the baby. I went to my manager and she said I had plenty of time before the baby came and she would not let me leave. I called the hospital around midnight and found out I had just missed it. The baby had come. I burst into tears. I was brokenhearted. Brian saw me crying and he came over gave me a big hug and told me everything would be ok. He even helped me roll silverware and do my side-work so I could get to the hospital sooner. That was February 20, 1998. From that date up until September 30, 2006 Brian Hatton was there for me with a hug and encouraging words every single time I needed him to be. I grew to depend on the comfort and security. I always felt safe with Brian. I knew, if he could help it, he would never let anything bad happen to me. And if he couldn’t help it, he would be there with me until the end.

When we first started dating we were so in-love. People would actually tell me how jealous they were of us because it was obvious what we had. He showed me so many things I’ve never seen before and we were always doing fun things. I’ve never loved or been loved by anyone like that before. We just had something special. This connection, like I’d known him all my lives before this one. We had the same sense of humor and it was refreshing to find someone who was just as sarcastic as me. He knew everything about me, and he loved me anyway. For those of you who know me, you know how difficult that must have been.

He had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known. He was always helping people move, paint, build something- you name it. Always. He never hesitated to help someone. He was a friend to most he met. I am proud to say that Brian was my friend. I’m sure dozens of people feel the same way. We hardly went anywhere that he didn’t run into someone he knew. He knew practically everyone. His personality was larger than life. He was loud and very animated when telling a story- and he had a story for everything. He was the master at foosball, video games, and movie quotes, just to name a few. Shortly after the accident I was talking to a friend who said “Brian always left an impression.” That is so true. He really did. Maybe not always a good impression, but an impression none the less. People remembered him for who he was.

When Olivia came into our lives, we both fell head-over-heals in-love with her. She was (and still is) a perfect combination of the two of us. She figured out how to wrap him around her finger the first time he held her. We had some problems after the new baby came. I don’t want to get into that here and now, but I eventually realized Brian was not ready for a family. As wonderful as he was, he could be a big fat pain in the ass too. In fact, the biggest I ever had the pleasure of knowing. He always knew which buttons to push and how to set me off. Sometimes he did it on purpose, but most of the time he was just being him. If you ever made the mistake of telling him your foot was asleep and then having him pull you along or poke you in the sleeping limb, you know just what I’m talking about.

Through it all we remained Best Friends. We were a team. Olivia knew her parents loved and respected each other without question. We spent holidays together and weekends at the pool- went to the zoo and the movies together. We were a family. I can’t say for sure if we would have ever gotten back together, but I can say it crossed my mind several times over the years. I often wondered why neither one of us ever got into a serious relationship in the 5 years we were apart. Maybe we were just waiting until the time was right. Until he grew up a bit and I loosened up a bit. I do know we thought we had all the time in the world. Come to find out, we didn’t.

I have one true regret in my life. And that is that I waited until after his accident to tell Brian how much he meant to me and how much I love him. I know he knew I love him, but not how much. I don’t even think I knew until all this happened. I’m grateful we had that time with him after he woke up from his coma when he was so responsive. I hate that he had to go through all of that, but, I’m glad he got to see how many people love him and wanted him to pull through.

I will never understand why, when talking about someone who as passed away, people will always say “I loved him” in the past tense. I still love Brian. I will love him until the day I die. My love for him did not die with him. If anything, it grew stronger. I have never felt pain the way I have over the past 6 months. I didn’t know someone could feel such emotional pain on the inside. It is pure torture to watch someone you love suffer. Especially when you know there is nothing you can do to help them. I can only imagine how terrible the whole experience must have been for Brian. I know that he is in a better place now. He is comfortable and happy again. I take comfort in knowing Olivia and I have our own very special guardian angel looking out for us. He won’t let anything bad happen to his girls. Not if he can help it.

It doesn’t seem fair that Olivia will only have a 6 year olds memories of her daddy. He really was a great daddy. Maybe not always the most responsible, but he was a great daddy. He loved her so much you could see it in his face every single time he looked at her. He had so much patience and a way of explaining things to her that made her understand everything. He taught her so much and took the time to stop and show her even the little things. He was so proud of his little girl. I will always remind Olivia of how great her dad was and how much he loved her. She will always remember her daddy as the biggest, strongest, funniest, smartest man in the whole world. I will always treasure the greatest gift he ever gave me- Olivia. He loved her so much that he held on so he could see her one last time to say good-bye to his baby girl. She had a wonderful last visit with him and I could tell he was really at peace. He looked comfortable and relaxed for the first time in almost 6 months.

I’d like to once again thank everyone for all your prayers and support over the months. It has been wonderful to know that there are so many people out there praying for our family. Some of whom I’ve never even met. Thank you. I’d especially like to thank Jamie and Greg Corona. I love you both so much. Thank you for being by my side through everything. I honestly can’t imagine where I’d be right now if it weren’t for you two. Thank you for being there for Brian- visiting him at the hospital and letting him know you were by his side all the way. Thank you for all your help with Olivia and being so good to her. She really loves you both so much too. Greg, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you spending time with her and giving her a male influence- teaching her how to ride her bike without training wheels and just hanging out doing things she and Brian used to do together. Jamie, she adores you- thank you for being her “sister” and for being such a good friend to me. I know it helped Brian to know that Olivia and I won’t ever be alone. We are so very blessed with so many great friends and family.

Please, always remember how Brian touched your lives and how fortunate we all were to have had him in our lives- even for the short time we had him.

Thank you,

Jessica

We'll Miss You Brian....

It is with a broken heart that I tell you all that Brian passed away last night.

Olivia, Jessica, Greg and I went to visit him yesterday. Livi got to see her dad and had a wonderful visit with him. After that, Jessica told him again that it was OK to let go. And about three hours later, Brian quit fighting and went to heaven.

We all know that Brian loved Olivia so very much that he just needed to see her one last time. And he looked so completely relaxed and peaceful while we were there. She got to hug on him and kiss him and tell him she loved him.

Jessica has made arrangements at Woodstock Funeral Home on Main Street in Woodstock, GA for Thursday, April 5 at 11:00am. We will have a simple service to honor Brian's memory and then we will all go to Sideline's on Barrett Parkway to celebrate him in style -- friends, foosball and laughter. Brian wouldn't have it any other way.

Please keep us in your prayers during this very difficult time. Livi's birthday is tomorrow so that will be hard on Livi and Jessica. Please pray that Jessica will have the strength to get through all of this. She has been such an amazing person throughout.

We also ask that in lieu of flowers that you donate to Livi's Fund -- at Bank of America (Olivia Hatton's Support Fund).

Brian was an amazing guy -- there wasn't a person that he met that didn't feel drawn to him and this world will be a little less fun without him around. But how lucky we are to have Olivia -- and she is such a great legacy for Brian. Last night she told me that she knew that "Dad was in heaven and that was a better place for him because now he could talk -- and Dad loves to talk." Kids can be so wise...

I would like to print out all the comments left on this site so that one day Livi can have them. If any of you would like to share your story of how Brian touched your life, that would be great -- Livi would love to have all these to read one day.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and words of encouragement.
And we know that heaven just got a little rowdier now that Brian's there....

"It is still so new & all we see is the empty space, but that is not how it is in the landscape of the heart. There, there is no empty space & he still laughs with each of us in turn. We are proud to have known him. We are proud to have called him friend." -StoryPeople

First Week at Heritage

Brian has been at Heritage for about a week and a half now and he really seems to like it. I visited with him on Saturday and Jessica had a long visit with him on Sunday. He really looks very relaxed and comfortable there. And the nurses are really in love with him. They are treating him like a superstar!!

Jessica had a good visit with him and he even winked at her a few times! We are hoping that means that he's liking his new room. His roommates are very nice and are watching out for him.

He does have a touch of pneumonia but they are treating him with antibiotics and the fever he's been running has been going down each day.

I'm sure everyone is relieved to hear that he has made the move and it has been a great success!

Of course we are still praying that Brian will become more and more responsive. They are going to start getting him up in his chair this week and hopefully that will make him feel better and give him a feeling of accomplishment. He has been laying in the bed for over 6 months now so even this tiny step forward should help his attitude. Before this move he had been looking a little depressed.

Olivia is also going to visit this weekend. This will be her first time seeing Brian since the accident. There are several reasons why Jessica kept her from the hospital -- One, Brian's health was always the most important thing. Little kids carry germs that could have tremendous consequences for him. So the doctors never really liked the idea of exposing Brian to those germs. And plus it was a very traumatic place for a kid -- especially when it's your dad.

Now when she sees him, he'll be dressed and sitting up and looking more like himself. Jessica just feels that it is time and Livi could not be more excited. She misses her daddy.

Livi has also been going to a child psychologist that has been helping her prepare for the visit and helping Jessica to know when is the right time. And the psychologist and the doctor think it's a good time. So we're going!

Please keep Jessica and Olivia very close to your hearts and in your prayers this week. Please pray that Livi will have a good visit with Brian and that everything will go smoothly.

This has been a very weird week for Jessica -- it's sad not having Brian close by. But we know that he is being very well cared for and that is the most important thing right now.

Thanks so much for your prayers.

Heritage Inn

Brian was moved on Monday morning and is getting settled in his new room.

We have not been able to visit him this week but my mom (Bonnie) went on Tuesday to make sure everything was OK. She said that Brian looked really good and comfortable and that the people there are really taking care of him. He was tired after the move and was resting most of the day.

They have ordered a special chair for him so that they can get him up out of the bed and take him around. We'll let you know when they start doing that.

He started running a fever yesterday and the doctor that came and checked him put him on an antibiotic. We're not exactly sure if or where there is an infection -- it may be just a precaution.
They are suctioning him often.

We have met one of his roommates -- Howard Pennemen and he is very friendly. He will be able to call for help if Brian has any trouble breathing, etc.

Please continue to pray for Brian. And especially for Jessica -- it's very difficult not being able to see Brian every day.

Thanks,
Jamie

The Last Weekend at Kennestone!!!

We are so happy to say that Brian is scheduled to be moved to Heritage Inn at 9:00am on Monday.

So long Kennestone!!

Jessica and I are driving down to Barnesville tomorrow to visit Heritage Inn and make sure everything looks good for Brian's arrival. We couldn't be more excited to finally have Brian out of the hospital.

Brian would love to see you all before he goes -- He is still in Room 403 at Kennestone. So many of you have kept up with Brian's journey and we know you may want to tell him "see you later" -- it's not goodbye. He'll be back. We will also be visiting Brian as much as we can on the weekends and would love to have people along for the ride.

We will keep everyone posted on his move.

Keep us all in your prayers as we (especially Brian) go through this transition. It will be very hard for Jessica to have Brian so far away, but she knows this is the best thing for him right now.

We still have hope that Brian will come back to us.

Thank you for your prayers.

Finally some Good News (maybe)

Jessica just called with her report from the evaluation:

The ladies that evaluated him said that he can go to Heritage Inn!!! Maybe as soon as tomorrow -- they have to switch his Medicaid to Medicare but they don't think that will be much of a hassle. Of course, poor Brian has had everything to be a hassle so we are keeping our fingers crossed that his luck may be finally turning around.

At Heritage, Brian will be in a room with 2 other men. We are actually excited about that because he'll have people talking around him and stimulating him. But most importantly, there will be someone there all the time to call for help if he needs it. During his time in the hospital (besides ICU), he was in a room all alone and no one knew if he started to have trouble breathing.

They also told Jessica that they will do various activities with him during the week and will get him up in a wheelchair and take him around. That will be the first time in 6 months that Brian will be out of the bed!!!! What a great thing!!

And the first thing they will do will be to heal his bedsores. He has 6 bedsores on his feet from laying in the bed.

There are some drawbacks -- mainly that he's going to be in Barnesville. But the positives definitely outweigh the negatives!!

Please keep us all in your prayers especially over the next few days. Please pray that this transfer will go smoothly and that Brian can get settled into his new room quickly.

And please pray for Jessica and all of us that have grown accustomed to going to Kennestone everyday. We are definitely glad to not have to go to the hospital but it will be weird not visiting with Brian after work.

We will visit on the weekends and call every day for updates so we will still keep you all posted.
Those of you that would like to take regular road trips to Barnesville -- we'd love to have you! Just contact me or Jessica and we'll try to organize a schedule so that we can carpool.

The more the merrier!

Although Brian is moving and getting settled, he still needs us. And he would still love to have visitors.

Thank you again for all your continued prayers.
--jamie

Brian's Evaluation

Brian is being evaluated by the Heritage Inn this morning. The rep was meeting Jessica at the hospital at 9:30 this morning.

I will post her update as soon as I hear from her.

Heritage Inn is located in Barnesville, GA which is south of Atlanta. We don't love the idea that Brian will be farther away from us but it is definitely in his best interests to be moved out of the hospital. Once he is settled in Heritage we can start trying to get him transferred to a place closer to Jessica. Not many places are qualified to care for the type of injury that Brian has and those places that can treat him, don't have available beds right now.

Keep praying that Brian can be transferred anywhere -- then we'll pray that he can move closer.

One good thing about Heritage Inn - one of the doctors that will be in charge of Brian is my cousin. So we have spoken with him and he knows Brian's condition. If he gets accepted into the facility, at least we'll finally have a doctor that will talk to us.

Keep Brian in your prayers this morning -- we need him to give his best performance!

--jamie