Life. It can change in a mere moment. One moment was on the day of October 24th for the family of Jaime and Joel, Dan, Bryce, Caleb, and Zander.

Jaime and Joel had found each other and fought the distance of 240 miles over several years to finally come together as a family. Jaime and her three boys, Daniel, Bryce, and Caleb, packed up and moved from Rochester, Minnesota, to join Joel in the Quad Cities, Iowa, in the winter of 2014 to start a new life. The struggle was real. There are no guidebooks to pave the way for a mother and her boys to incorporate a new person in their life, especially as a new stepdad.

Joel was built for family, though. He had already left one long-term serious relationship because there was no hope to build a family, to now dedicate his love for Jaime and step into the fire of an instant family. Together they made their way through so many challenges. In October of 2015, Jaime blessed Joel with a son, and Dan, Bryce, and Caleb with a new brother, Alexzander. It was beautiful to watch a family coalesce around the addition of little Zander to the mix. He was an instant lightning rod, full of life and never to be ignored. He seemed to complete this family as they all grew and moved forward.

The morning of October 24, the beginning of a weekend that Jaime, Joel, and Zander were on their way to spend time together as a family in southern Iowa deer hunting. Joel had told his brother how much they were looking forward to this weekend and how excited he was for the chance to share this experience and time with Jaime and Zander.

It was very foggy that morning, Friday, October 24th, as they hit the road when life changed in a mere moment. The semi-truck that pulled out onto the road could not see them coming, and they didn't see the semi until it was too late.

In a mere moment, life changed. Jaime did not survive that fateful moment and is now in the arms of the Lord.

Joel has multiple jaw, cranial, and cervical fractures, but will heal up physically with the excellent care of University of Iowa Hospital.

Zander is struggling. He has no broken bones, but his heart had stopped and he was revived. He has been non-responsive since, and his fate is still in God's hands.

Four boys have lost their mother, and three are struggling mightily to make sense of all this.

Joel will heal physically, but will never be the same as he blames himself for this tragedy.

The reason for this GoFundMe

We are in the beginning stages of trying to sort through the effects this mere moment has created.

We know the immediate need is for 3 boys who lost their mom to be able to keep their house and pay the bills associated with that while Joel heals.

There are funeral arrangements to be made and paid for to lay dear Jaime to rest.

The big unknown result of that mere moment is the long term.

We don't know the full ramifications of Zander’s injuries and what long-term care he may need, and we don't know the timeline for Joel to heal physically and mentally and be able to return to work. We also don't know yet what Dan, Bryce, and Caleb may need to help them through this.

We, as a large and extended family of Schelhaas and Zanks, are still working through the effects this life-changing mere moment has visited upon our family. I'm sure there is much more that we haven't considered yet as the shock and grief are still so raw.

We appreciate any help you can give, and if you can't help monetarily, please pray for Zander. Pray for peace for Daniel, Caleb, Bryce, and Joel. And pray for all the rest of us who struggle to make sense of this. Pray for the dads and moms, the grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends as we work our way through this mere moment.

As this is a very fluid situation, we will update here as the situation warrants.

We thank you, and we’ll end this with one of Jaime's favorite prayers.

PRAYER FOR MY FAMILY

Dear Lord.

I pray for my family. Please protect them from all evil. Save them from any plans of the enemy. Give them strength and good health. Protect them from thieves, robbers, and death.

Let us share this bond forever. Let us always be willing and ready to help each other. Let us not quarrel and stay angry at each other. Let us always be willing to forgive and bury the hatchet.

Teach us to love each other always and show our children the true meaning of love and being a family.

Amen