Three years and 9 months ago today I lost the beat to my heart. My best friend, my Son, my everything was stolen from me, and the fight for justice for continues to go on. Justice in a court of law means that Josh is given the dignity that he deserves and for his name and his memory to no longer have a shadow of doubt hanging over them. A plea of not guilty was returned in court yesterday and a trial date was set for the 16th of September, while I had anticipated this, the reality of it and the hell that we will continue to be pulled into, is exhausting.
The never ending cycle of pain continues to grow stronger but Brooke and I have stayed focused and channeled our energies in to doing all that we can to change the story about knife this past month, by sharing Josh’s story and his short life. Josh is now in the hearts of over 4,000 young people, 150 school teachers and over 200 parents and professionals that never knew him. We have been inundated with such positive feedback and more requests to share Josh’s story in schools and colleges continue to come in.
Sharing Josh’s story is not easy but it is important that it is heard by us. It is important that our journey of grief, loss and heartbreak is spoken about, from the telephone call to tell us that Josh was dead to sharing his funeral, our lives without him and the daily challenges that victims face. We have cried with and hugged so many people who have watched the short videos clips of Josh and we have laughed with them when they hear Josh’s laugh too. But most importantly we have got the message across through Josh that it is never ok to carry a knife.
With so much pain and injustice in the world it is hard to stay positive, but I promised Josh that I would keep his memory alive until I take my last breath and that is a promise I intend to keep. I will not let him down, I will fight for him and I will introduce him to thousands of people who were robbed of ever getting to know him because I am his Mum.
Josh was a wonderful young man, spirited, happy, funny, caring, loving and uplifting and I miss him so much. My heart is truly broken, I am a shadow of my former self but when a young person comes over to me to tell me how much they are moved by Josh I know that lives are being saved and that is something positive in a world with far too much pain.
Thank you all again for your support, your messages and phone calls during this really difficult time help me more than you will ever know.
Tracey ????❤️? #justiceforjoshhanson
