Justin Skeesuck and Patrick Gray have been friends for longer than they can remember. Born in the same hospital two days apart, buddies in the neighborhood in the small eastern Oregon town of Ontario, high school sports, best man in each other’s weddings. They were in a car wreck in high school that was scary, but both seemed to recover well. But over time Justin’s legs began to show signs of weakness, limiting his mobility. They both finished college, got married, began careers and families in different states yet stayed in close touch.
Over time the weakness persisted, then a parade of doctors’ visits and tests and questions and answers and questions, and a diagnosis of a progressive neuromuscular disease similar to ALS that would soon rob him of the use of his arms and legs. Over time he weakened, by March 2012 he had braces on both legs – spent most of his time in a wheelchair but not yet all – couldn’t button his shirt. But he could press the buttons on the remote control, and was flipping channels and came across one of those Rick Steves shows on PBS, on northern Spain. He saw Pamplona and the running of the bulls, then the program shifted to the Camino de Santiago, the Way of Saint James, a nearly 800 km pilgrimage route beginning around the border with France and ending at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, where the Apostle James’ bones are said to be buried. This awakened this longing within him, something to do before he became more limited, as he feared life slipping away. But he also knew it was a ridiculous dream.
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