Two weeks after losing their son in a tragic drowning accident, Granger Smith and his wife Amber broke their silence on social media to address fans in an emotional video shared to YouTube.
In the 27-minute long clip, the couple thanked fans for their outpouring of support following the death of their three-year-old son River Kelly Smith. They assured fans that they are “stronger than ever right now” and “committed to each other” as well as their family and their faith.
“We’re going to constantly search for the meaning behind all of this,” Granger shared. “Not the reason, I think the reason is very different than the meaning. I’m not going to get caught up in the reasons, I’ll never know. But we’ll find the meaning and the good in this and the way to spread this message and this legacy. And he’ll always be with me, and he’ll always be in our hearts.”
He went on to recall the day River died. His two sons, River and Lincoln, were playing with water guns while he played with his daughter, London, in the yard.
“Somewhere between 30 seconds and three minutes later – we don’t know – Amber and I are inside our pool gate doing CPR on our son,” he said. “I think the platform that we immediately stand for is love those close to you. Soak up those moments. Live for today because we’re not guaranteed tomorrow. What happened to us defied all odds, all possibilities.”
Soon after River’s passing, the couple’s daughter, London, asked Granger how many days her brother lived. His answer? Just over 1,000.
“I thought about that after I said that,” he said as his emotions started to overcome him. “I thought, ‘What if we were all given 1,000 days on this earth and you could live those days barefoot, your red hair flying back, on your go kart, on your tractor full speed ahead?’ If you could do that with your family around you with no real cares in the world … that’s a good way to live.”
Granger and Amber promise to go on living life to its fullest and to never take life for granted.
“Don’t feel sorry for us because we feel very blessed that we had an incredible little boy for three years,” Granger Smith said. “We feel really good about that. And we feel really good about our other kids and their state of mind right now. We are going to live our best life and we’re going to do it with you guys and we’re going to share it with you guys.”
Fans who want to contribute to Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in River’s honor can do so by purchasing a River Smith Tribute t-shirt HERE.
