Japanese Maples: Japanese Maple died, but part lives on! How to salvage it?, 1 by Wifeygirl

Wifeygirl wrote:
Hi JM folks!

My son gave me this gorgeous Japanese Maple for my birthday, but then I messed up, didn't give it enough water, and it died (I thought). I was so sad, but stuck it in a semi-sheltered spot that was hit by the sprinklers and forgot about it.

Sure enough, come spring, it is pushing suckers. They are two different colors, which from my research makes me think that the red branches are coming from the grafted-on tree and the green from the root system it was grafted onto.

What do I do with this tree now? I've ruined the truly beautiful form of the original tree (sob), but this has sentimental value to me and I want to salvage it somehow. Can I make it into a multitrunk tree? Should I tie the suckers to the original tree and use the original dead tree as the "stake" for them? Can I make this into a really cool multicolored JM by leaving both the types of suckers and making them part of the tree?

Any insight you JM-folk could give me would be wonderful. =D
Thanks!
Wifeygirl