The day before Christopher Moran, 20, was to come home to Ottawa to spent the holidays with his family, he suffered severe head trauma after being struck by a car while out running errands. The University of Waterloo architecture student's parents, Francis and Elaine, along with their spouses and his younger brother caught the first flight they could from Ottawa to be by his side. Christopher underwent surgery at Hamilton General Hospital three days before Christmas. Sitting by his bedside, his dad tweeted "Living with something horrible right now". That first tweet was the beginning of a heartbreaking journey that he hoped would follow the path to his son's recovery. For 16 days, both parents took to social media to update family and friends. He on twitter and she on facebook. Moran's tweets following the family's journey through hope, anxiety, sadness and overwhelming love for their son are sometimes difficult to read. Here are just a few that brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes. "Tweeting my son's condition is grotesque and wrenching. Receiving your prayers and thoughts is a great comfort. Thank you, all." - Dec 22 "Just kissed my boy goodnight. He's had as good a day as could be hoped for." - Dec 23 "Our Christmas wish is for a present unlike any we've ever asked for. Won't get it today; hopefully it can be unwrapped in a day or two." - Dec 25 "I watched a beautiful sunrise this morning, the first all week, & ached for the possibility that today would also see a sunrise for my boy" - Dec 30th "Today was another long and horrible day" - Jan 3 "We have to let our beautiful boy go. My heart is shattered." - Jan 4 "Our beautiful boy surrendered, immensely peacefully, early this am. I can't thank you all enough for your loving support these past weeks. - Jan 7 Both of Chris's parents say the outpouring of support they received through social media helped them through the most difficult time of their lives. "Don't sweat the small stuff, cherish your friends and family and keep them your number 1 priority, and laugh often. It is hard to imagine how we will go on without Chris here with us, but he will always be a part of us, in our thoughts, our heart and our soul. We have always loved him so and always will. We promised him that we would live our best lives for him, in his honour," - posted on Christopher's facebook page by his mother on Jan 7th. RIP Christopher Moran