Like most mothers, Charlotte Hall just wants to protect her son from harm and pain.
"Even though he's older, he's still my baby, he's still my child," Hall said.
But sometimes even a mother's love isn't enough to shut out the cruelty of the world.
"It's something that all parents of special needs [children] worry about. 'Is someone bullying them or picking on them?' With my son's spirit, I never thought it would happen to him," she said.
On Jan. 30, Julian Hall was walking down Colfax, when police records show three men attacked him near the thrift store at 1331 E Colfax Avenue. They kicked, punched and beat him because they thought he had called a woman they were with a bad name. A security guard and several other bystanders stopped the attack that left Julian with a bloody lip and bruised body.
Julian tells Denver7 that tennis made him feel worthwhile
"It made me feel pretty mad and- and- angry. I'm pretty traumatized as well," said the younger Hall.
Adversity is nothing new to the 26-year-old. He survived two strokes as a baby and a non-Hodgkin Lymphoma diagnosis at the age of 18. The boy, who wasn't expected to walk, is now one of the best Special Olympics Colorado athletes in the world.
"He's been through a lot, so he's very resilient," his mother said. "Just the baby steps of day-to-day are gonna [sic] be a bit of a struggle."
Denver Police arrested Casey Gurske, 41, for third-degree assault of an at-risk person. They are still looking for the two other suspects.
While love might not be able to protect from evil, it certainly can help heal it, as evidenced by watching the Hall family.
"I would like to see them caught so they won't hurt anymore people," Julian said.
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