Shawn Gragg is home. Those words Wednesday thrilled the hearts of people who know Shawn and even strangers who learned of him through his recent battle with COVID.
Gragg, a former Habersham County law enforcement officer, spent nearly a month in the hospital fighting the virus, much of that time he was in intensive care on a ventilator and dialysis.
Friends and former colleagues launched fundraisers to help him and his family. On August 12, they eagerly showed up to welcome him home.
“It was great seeing Shawn come home today!” says Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell. “God is still in control and Shawn is an answer to many prayers.”
The sheriff was among nearly a dozen law enforcement officers who lined the street outside Gragg’s home Wednesday evening to greet him. Shelley Tullis was there too. She and her husband have been close friends with Shawn and his wife Jennifer for many years.
“Shawn’s return home was an emotional moment for his family,” says Tullis, who captured the happy homecoming on video. “He is loved by many in this community.” That was evidenced by the number of friends, neighbors, and former colleagues who dropped everything with just an hour’s notice to be there.
“We are all so excited to have him home,” Jennifer Gragg tells Now Habersham. She calls the past four weeks the “longest month of our lives.”
Since her husband was admitted to the hospital on July 15, Jennifer has found support and comfort in her faith and community. She calls her husband “a miracle” and expresses deep gratitude to all those who have supported them and their children through this trying ordeal.
“We have had so much support from everyone. I don’t think I will ever be able to thank them enough,” she says.
As for his current condition, Shawn is “doing well,” according to his wife, but he still has a long recovery ahead of him. He will do physical therapy from home and “take it one day at a time,” Jennifer says. “We are just so blessed to serve a mighty God.”
