A personal note from me to the OTF community…

[Sarah O]

Colt is definitely a fighter! Thanks for keeping us updated, I’m always so glad to hear that he’s doing well. Continued prayers for you and your family. I hope Tate is doing ok after his concussion, too. You’ve got some tough kiddos, Blake! 

[Casey67]

Thanks Blake.......you just made me cry right before bed.  LOL

From one father to another I want to tell you how touching that post was.

God Bless you and your family.  

.........and Go Colt!

[Bevo72]

Hey Blake,  you are a very strong man with class.  I only wish you and your family the best.  BTW you are not muted!

[TexasMDcoach]

🙌

[General Grant]

Heck yeah!

[Andy Arnold]

Nope, these aren’t tears on my cheeks! I think an onion got loose in here. 
 

thank you for sharing with us and including us in something so incredibly personal and important to you guys. I feel like i speak for all of us on this board in saying how you have won our hearts with your simple and amazingly genuine charm. 
we are so happy for you and your family friend and truly honored to have shared in your journey. God bless you guys and I’m excited to see what God does with Colt in his future! I’m certain God has huge plans for Colt! 
 

Hook’em forever 🤘🏼🧡

[James Littleton, Jr.]

Thanks be to God that Colt is improving and doing well.

[watty7796]

God gives us perils to grow from to learn to lean on his strength snd grace to grow.  Its great to hear that from the least likely to reach out to the most likely and everyone in between put sport/ school affiliation etc aside for a moment that was and still is simply greater.  Prayers up.

[817 Boxing B]

7 hours ago, Blake Munroe said:

It’s been one year since I’ve tweeted this out:

One year to the day, actually.

Over the past few days I’ve re-read every response to this tweet. Ive gone back to the OnTexasFootball message boards and read every response on a thread where a poster asked for prayers for my son.

I’ve thought about a lot, including what I would write when this day finally came.

I thought about writing about the journey that was filled with twists and turns at damn near every stop.

How we went back into the hospital twice since then.

I’ve thought about writing about that night that was filled with so much uncertainty. Where doctors and nurses filled his ICU room, where he was losing blood at an alarming rate. When the Chaplain came at 2 AM and bent the truth, telling my wife he was “just making the rounds” while I sat beside Colt, watching my son look like he never has before, a white pale face and a lifeless body… All while they try to pump 11 units of blood in him to save his life. And how the smell of blood permeated the air to the point it made me nauseous. An unfortunate scene that replays in my mind at least weekly and makes me shudder every time it does so.

I’ve thought about this more over the last few days than I have the last few months, if I’m being honest.

From that thinking, I’ve come away with two conclusions.

First, despite all the hardships and changes, my son is a fighter. Losing 30 pounds, having no appetite, losing all the strength that he has worked so hard to build up, being poked and prodded, having to walk when he didn’t have energy to stand, along with thousands of other things… He persevered. He fought through it all and stands here today, bigger, stronger, faster, and most importantly, healthy.  From initially being told he might not get to play sports again to just months later playing baseball, running track, and even getting back on the football field, Colt is the true definition of perseverance. It hasn’t been easy, nor was it quick, but he worked his butt off to get back to where he is today. The lessons he learned along the way over the past year will help him all throughout life, not just on the field. He’ll always know that he has the strength and mindset to overcome anything.

Secondly, the other conclusion I’ve come away with, is the simple fact that we were surrounded by a great community and had phenomenal support. Not only people from our hometown offering to help in any way possible, but people from all over as well. Whether that be an SEC rival’s football coach (who shall go unnamed) reaching out, to a certain player on Colt‘s favorite football team who is now like a brother to him,  to one of the nation’s best baseball coaches asking if there was anything they can do to help. 

It didn’t stop there, however, as hundreds and hundreds of messages poured in, people asking to send gifts, food, prayers… whatever it may be. I would be here all day listing them and I can’t thank each and every one of them enough.

People in Comanche also went above and beyond. There are numerous I want to name personally, but I won’t. They weren’t doing it for recognition, but instead were doing it for all the right reasons.

To all of those people, I can’t thank you enough.  Your support, through a multitude of avenues, lifted us up when we needed it the most.

I want to extended a special thank you to the OTF community as well. Yall still check on him to this day and that means a lot. From the super chats, to your posts… those who asked Bobby to get ahold of me for many different reasons… all of it. Words can’t express how much it means to not only myself, but my wife and kids as well.

As for Colt, he’s come a long way. He still has quarterly visits to specialists. He still has to watch what he does. He still has to take precautions.

But he’s alive and healthy and doing well.

And that’s what matters.

The greatest value in this community is how we come together when the orange horn signal goes up for help!! Even in times like these, the human spirit and love for each other is undeniable. 🤘🏿 and we all pray he continues on a healthy path.

[alrightalrightalright]

God bless you and your family, Blake! Colt is a fighter 🤘🏽