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A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Time for StoryCorps. Today, an update on a family you heard from 10 years ago. As a college student, Sean Carter was in a car crash that caused a traumatic brain injury. He could no longer walk and couldn't speak without the help of a computer.
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SEAN CARTER: (Through computer) Hi. My name is Sean Carter. I am here with my mom Jenny Carter.
JENNY CARTER: It's kind of hard living with your mom 24/7 when you're 32 years old.
S CARTER: (Through computer) Hell, yeah.
J CARTER: (Laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: Sean's mom, Jenny, is his full-time caregiver. Jenny is aging. So they came back to StoryCorps to talk about what the future might hold.
S CARTER: (Through computer) How have things changed since the first recording we did together?
J CARTER: I think your electronic voice has matured.
S CARTER: (Through computer) My manly voice.
J CARTER: Yes (laughter). Plus, you've gotten so much more independent.
S CARTER: (Through computer) I've now been walking for 10 years with my walker, but I still hope and pray that I'll be free to walk anywhere without anything to help.
J CARTER: You seem fearless to me, and I don't know that you seemed that way 10 years prior.
S CARTER: (Through computer) Yes. Life just keeps getting better because I have you. Is there anything you feel like you've missed out on in life because of your focus on me, the time you could not spend with your grandkids?
J CARTER: Yeah. I do regret the time that I haven't been able to spend with my grandkids.
S CARTER: (Through computer) I food (ph) terrible that your life had to change so much.
J CARTER: I don't really feel like they're sacrifices, Sean. It's just the way life is. I don't want you in a nursing home.
S CARTER: (Through computer) No.
J CARTER: I don't want your life to be anything less than anybody else's life. So don't ever feel like you are holding me from doing anything.
S CARTER: (Through computer) I feel hopeful at times while I am making baby steps, little by little, to be able to take care of myself. Who knows when that will finally happen, or if it is even on this side of heaven.
J CARTER: What do you think about when you think about the future?
S CARTER: (Through computer) Thinking about my future when you are gone is scary. So you just live forever, and I'll be good.
J CARTER: (Laughter) You know, Sean, I used to always pray that I would live one second longer than you. And I know that you're going to outlive me. And so I just pray that you have a good and happy life, son.
S CARTER: (Through computer) I don't have any idea what life will look like when you pass, but I will figure it out, and I will be OK. I feel like we are living the best life we can with the cards we were given.
J CARTER: Well, I can agree with that.
S CARTER: (Through computer) I love you.
J CARTER: I love you too.
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MARTÍNEZ: Sean and Jenny Carter in Houston, Texas. Their conversation is archived at the Library of Congress, and you can hear more of Sean's story on the next episode of the StoryCorps podcast.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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