Prayer leads a family on path to recovery

Facebook page HOLDENSTRONG shares the roller coaster story of a family and a community deeply rooted in their faith. Through the writings of Blaine and Cortney Weaver, friends and family, the Facebook page created for their son tells their story of enduring faith. Spanning six months, it reveals their journey through what began as perhaps the darkest night of their lives.

The night was Sept. 23, 2022, when their eldest son, Holden, was rushed to Spohn Shoreline Hospital after a horrible UTV (utility terrain vehicle) accident. He was unresponsive on arrival, and the doctors performed extensive surgery to repair damage to his brain, head and face. He also suffered breaks to his femur and patella.

Holden’s recovery started in Trauma ICU for one month at Spohn Shoreline. He was then transported by ambulance to Texas Neuro in Austin. Then he was flown to Denver to Craig Hospital. Parents Blaine and Cortney have never left his side.

The Weavers have never lost faith as they shared their son’s steady progress, never veering from their goal of 100% recovery for their son, touching the community with their faith and requesting prayers. Their commitment to Holden’s healing and requests for prayers has touched the community in a truly remarkable way.

A little background on the couple reveals that Blaine is a fourth-generation farmer with his brother Blake as his business partner. Blaine and his wife, Cortney, were born and raised in Corpus Christi. Cortney attended Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Church and graduated from Calallen High School. She then went on to graduate from Texas A&M University-College Station. She firmly believes in “God winks” or occurrences similar to coincidences, and she continues to see them daily.

Blaine grew up in the Methodist and Baptist churches and graduated from Mary Carroll High School. He then converted to Catholicism in 2012. Since then, they have been members of St. Pius X, St. Philip the Apostle, and Most Precious Blood Parishes. He is described as a “hard-working, tennis-playing farmer” by close friend Joanna McCain-Busenlehner. Blaine “helped fill a home with the sweetest giggles, kissing skinned knees, washing chubby little dirty hands before meals, doling out goodnight kisses after reading books... always reading books,” Joanna said of Blaine.

They have two sons, Holden, 16 and Hudson, 13. Their sons attended school at London Independent School District, and the entire family has been very involved in the Nueces County Junior Livestock Show and will begin again soon.

Holden is an old soul who likes to work with his hands and be outdoors. He likes to hunt, fish and participate in the rodeo, calf and team roping. He has a deep voice and is very polite, saying “yes ma’am” or “yes sir” to everyone he meets. In spite of debilitating injuries, Holden continues to work hard to regain his physical and mental capacities. “Loyal, respectful, mechanically minded, funny, hard-headed, diligent, fearless in the pursuit of new adventures, steadfast, and loved by all” is how Joanna, describes him.

Hudson, his younger brother, adores his older brother. He participates in basketball, football, tennis, and the Junior Livestock Show. During the past few months, he has been an older brother to Holden, instilling confidence and encouraging him to be positive by lifting his spirits.

When Hudson visited Holden for the first time at Craig Hospital in Colorado, “Holden’s eyes immediately lit up, and his overall mood changed. You could tell he was happy,” Blaine said. “It is so awesome to watch Hudson interact with him. It’s like he has the little brother he always wanted but treated him with the respect of the big brother.”

“We wouldn’t be able to stay this strong if it were not for our Christian community who has supported us, loved us, comforted us and prayed for us since day one,” Blaine said. While Holden was in critical but stable condition in Corpus Christi, their community had weekly candlelight vigils and prayer walks near Spohn Shoreline.

Prayer outreach continued at a well-attended Holy Hour at Most Precious Blood Church, where their church community prayed the rosary.

“Our Christian community set up a 48-hour prayer vigil where individuals came to the hospital waiting room and prayed in 30-minute shifts —family, friends and complete strangers participated in this touching event,” Cortney said.

“Many members of our Christian community post prayers on Holden’s Facebook page that uplift us and everyone in the group. Thanks to the power of prayer, we believe Holden will make a 100% recovery. That is OUR expectation. It doesn’t matter how long it takes —we are patient,” Blaine said. “‘When the time is right, I the LORD will make it happen’ (Isaiah 60:22).”

The Weavers remain steadfast in their commitment to praying for Holden’s recovery. He is on countless prayer lists worldwide and enrolled in over a dozen Catholic associations that pray for him at their holy Masses. Additionally, novenas, Padre Pio’s daily Miracle prayer and holy water from Lourdes have all contributed to his recovery.

“We have been saying the rosary together every night since the accident,” Blaine said. Praying together has been a huge part of our success in staying faithful, strong and patient. We can sit down and pray together at the end of a rough day, and everything immediately improves. It’s just a great way to finish the day, knowing that we get to start a brand new one tomorrow.”

“We have the best family and friends one could ask for. We never realized that we had so many great people in our lives. The support they have shown has been hard to fathom.”
 

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