Christmas 2014

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Descending Dove Festival of Lights LaSalette Shrine, Attleboro photo by Samantha Aguiar

Descending Dove Festival of Lights, LaSalette Shrine, Attleboro
photo by Samantha Aguiar

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

To everyone, we wish you all a happy and safe holiday season.

I want to send a personal hello and thank you to some very special people.

To my family, I love you all and miss you very much.

To Lisa, the most special and amazing woman I’ve ever known…I love you.

Amber, every day you make me proud. In your smile and in your laugh there is love. You bring light to my life.

To Heather, Kate, Sue, Frank and Chris; to Drs. Laposata, Squier, Hua and Van Ee; to John, Lisa, and Don, from me and my family, we all want to thank you for your belief in my innocence and your hard work on my case.

Vickie, also, has been so supportive. Despite the fact that Vickie and her family have been fighting their own battle for justice, she has gone out of her way to send kind words. Thank you.

To our friends at Injustice Anywhere…Bruce hosted Lisa on his Blog Talk Radio program in September then officially endorsed my case. Sarah wrote an amazing article on our story for their holiday newsletter.  We had no idea that they were planning to write about our struggle. Thank you for this incredible show of support.

And to some special people from home that I think about every day: Charlene and Sean; Manny, Becky and their boys; Eddie and Deb; Randy and his family; and Mary…I love you all and want to thank you for your love and support. Merry Christmas to you and your families.

And finally to everyone who has signed our petition on Change.org, shared a link to our website on their Facebook and Twitter, and just support us in our struggle for justice…Thank you to all of you. You and your families are in our thoughts and prayers.

To update everyone on my progress with Dancer, the NEADS Service Dog I am training…She is doing great and we are both working hard. Her training is moving forward and she is doing well. She is learning all of the foundation work that will become finished obedience and shaped command. She is a very happy and lovable puppy who is a joy to work with. All of the other trainers love her as well. I am very fortunate to have her to train. She makes me smile every day.

The end of the year is upon us. It is a time that we reflect on the year that has past, and then contemplate the new one to come. This past year has been a roller coaster ride. We have had several encouraging ups, and we’ve had some devastating lows. Looking forward we will stay positive and continue to have faith, hope and love. We are always thankful for what we have, and choose not dwell on what we don’t have. Our hope is that 2015 will bring new opportunities, open doors, and finally bring me home to my family. It’s been a long year, but we’re not giving up. We continue to have faith that our family will be reunited. In our hearts we know that everything will be okay…

Remember that every day brings us One Day Closer…

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Brian

 

November, 2014

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Hello to all,

I hope everyone is well. For myself, I am staying positive and still have dreams for a better future.

I can’t thank everyone enough for their kind words and supportive comments. It was especially wonderful to hear from Randy, Moe and Manny. Thank you to everyone who sent a message of encouragement and support. Whether you realize it or not, your words give my whole family strength to keep fighting during those dark times when it feels all is lost. Thank you.

I have some wonderful news. Lily, the beautiful, black lab I worked with over the last few months, has been placed with a client. Lily was matched with a 15 year old boy who lives with his family in New Mexico. This brave young man faces terrible medical challenges that Lily will be eager and capable of assisting him through every day.  Among other things, his needs include daily breathing treatments, chest therapy, and weekly IV’s.  Lily will enrich his life by assisting him with turning on and off lights and carrying emergency response equipment in her backpack. She will also help him with stability and balance; and, most importantly, she will give him love and companionship. Although I will miss Lily, I am very proud of her. I am honored to have played a part in her training and I know that she will change that young boy’s life in more ways then can be imagined. Lily’s greatest gift is unconditional love. Good luck and best wishes to Lily and her new family. Lily was featured on a recent episode of Chronicle.

Brian with Dancer, November 2014

Brian with Dancer, November 2014

However, looking towards the future, I now have the amazing privilege of training a beautiful Fox Red Labrador. Her name is Dancer. She’s 5 months old and the most lovable creature I have ever met. When you reach down to pet her, she collapses in eager anticipation of a belly rub. She has the most amazing, red coat and expressive, brown eyes. Dancer is what is called a “soft dog.” She is a timid puppy and learns very slowly. However, soft dogs often make the best service dogs. It will be an amazing journey training her to become a NEADS service dog. I will keep everyone updated on her progress.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Please be thankful for all that you have. Take time to appreciate your family, and the ability to be with them. Do not take for granted your freedom. For me, I will be thankful for my family, my beautiful daughter Amber, and my love, Lisa. I will also be thankful for my freedom of mind and spirit, two things that cannot be taken from me. I will not let where I am define me or let my imprisonment change who I am in my heart.

Please remember, everyday brings us One Day Closer…

Brian

9/29/14

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Hello once again.

Let me begin this post by sending a thank you to Bruce Fischer and everyone at Injustice Anywhere. The internet radio interview earlier this month was amazing. We greatly appreciate the fact that Injustice Anywhere chose to profile our story and that they ultimately decided to endorse my case. Thank you. I would also like to send out a very special thank you to Lisa, our web administrator and advocate. She was awesome! On behalf of me and my whole family, we love you Lisa. Although she was very nervous, she did a sensational job during the interview. She is my hero and best friend. Lisa, you are amazing.

And then there is my mom and daughter…as difficult as it can be for me to be reminded of how all of this has affected my family, I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have ALL of their love and support. All of my family, friends, and other supporters give me strength to get through each day. To Amber…I am sorry. I am sorry for all you have had to endure. I am sorry that through no fault of your own, you have gone without so much. In spite of all the difficulties and obstacles you have had to face throughout your childhood, you have become a beautiful, smart, sensitive and strong young woman. You have CHOSEN to be happy and to have hope. I am so proud of you. I love you.

Brian, Amber, and Lily September 2014

Brian, Amber, and Lily
September 2014

In my last post I promised updates on Lily, the Black Lab I have been blessed to have an opportunity to train as a NEADS service dog. She is great and very smart. She knows all 54 commands necessary to become a service dog. I am looking forward to her being placed with a client that needs her. She is scheduled to graduate sometime next month. I am sure Lily will change, as well as enrich someone’s life. This past weekend Amber and I took a picture with Lily in the prison’s visitation center. Lily will stay with us in our hearts.

I would like to tell you all about one of the best, most rewarding parts of the NEADS Prison Partnership Program. Every few months there is a dog graduation. Once a service dog has completed their training and has been placed with a client, the clients come into the prison to meet the men that trained their dogs. This past week I had the privilege to attend the most recent graduation ceremony here at the prison. I had the honor to meet three disabled veterans, diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The three soldiers came to the facility with their newly placed dogs to meet us and thank us personally for training their dogs. Each of them explained how their dog will change their lives, and what having a service dog means to them. It was amazing. For us, the trainers, the graduation brings the whole process full circle. It can be very difficult for us to be given a new puppy who knows nothing, training her and take care of her for up to 18 months, then ultimately having to watch her leave to be placed with a client. Getting to meet the person who has gotten her…seeing their smile and love for their new service dog, makes it all worth while.

Thank you once again to everyone for their love and support.                                                 Everyday brings us One Day Closer…

Brian

9/5/14

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Hello to everyone,

I’m being told that there has been a lot of people looking for an update post from me. I have to admit, it’s a strange feeling after so many years to have so many amazing people interested in our struggle. Although it’s wonderful to have the love and support of so many, it’s also very humbling. I am grateful.

I also want to personally thank the newest members of our team, Drs. Hua and Van Ee. Their gracious offers of assistance and supporting affidavits, along with the affidavits of Drs. Laposata and Squier, further prove what I have continuously said for nearly 19 years. I NEVER hurt Christopher.

Our awesome site administrator, Lisa, has been encouraging me for quite some time now to post something personal about myself. This is difficult for me. I don’t do “personal” very well. In such a dark and depressing place, it can be hard to be personal. But I will try…

I work very hard to stay positive and focus on the good when surrounded by so much bad. I try to remain optimistic and I choose to find the positive within adversity. That’s why I am so very grateful for the love and support of my friends and family. Everyday my daughter makes me proud of the strong and independent person she’s become. I am awed at the kindness, sensitivity and love given so completely and unconditionally by the special woman in my life. And I am humbled by all of the kind words of encouragement that come in daily. I am unable to put into words the strength and motivation it gives me. It keeps my heart grounded with my loved ones and it feeds the hope for a better future in my soul. Even after all I have been through, I truly consider myself a very blessed man.

Also, in the spirit of being personal, I want to briefly tell everyone about a new girl in my life. Her name is Lily. She is a Black Lab and I am training her as a service dog through the NEADS Prison Partnership Program. I was chosen to be 1 of 15 men, out of 1,300, to train a service dog. I was given Lily to prepare her to be placed with someone with a physical or psychological disability. Lily stays with me in my cell and I train her to do tasks such as open doors, pick-up dropped items, turn on lights, and fetch items out of the refrigerator. It’s an amazing feeling to train a service dog that you know will ultimately change the life of a disabled person. I will keep everyone updated on her progress.

Thank you once again to everyone. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I will attempt to post more often.

One day closer…

Brian

1/3/14 Brian’s first post

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1/3/14

Happy New Year.

Thank you to my family, friends, and loved ones. Thank you also to everyone who is fighting on our behalf. In so many ways I am grateful and consider myself a blessed man with a life that is full of love.

I remember once, while sitting in the prison visiting room, my father looked at me and asked, “How do you get through each day?” I answered him, “By being thankful for what I have, instead of dwelling on what I don’t.”

Having people who love and support me is very powerful. Having family that cared for me when things were at their worst, brought me hope. Having a daughter who continues to see me merely as her daddy, when so many have looked at me as something else, gives me faith. Having an incredible, caring woman believe in me with all her heart, shows me true love. That’s how I get through each day…hope, faith, and love.

Everyday continues to bring new dreams and new opportunities. And every day brings us one day closer to our happy ending. Thank you to everyone for their love and support.

– Brian