On Tuesday, December 23, 2025, Rob, Mel, and Mel’s daughter *K* got into an accident right after we had picked *K* up so she could spend a few days with us before Christmas. We were 10 minutes into the ride home. It was getting extremely slippery and icy. The roads had not been pretreated nor salted/sanded at that moment. The roads got that bad, that quick. We slid, the back of the Escape fishtailed out, and Rob tried to get out of the slide early enough to avoid the impact. The way we were sliding, we would have been T-boned on *K* and Mel’s side, but tragically, that would have been a completely different story. Rob was able to actually pull out of getting T-boned at the last minute; but even that still resulted in a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler semi-truck.

None of us truly have any idea how we survived this. But yes, thankfully, we all did. We all have a long road of recovery, but we will be okay. With our long road to recovery, neither of us can work for at least a few months. We all know that no work equals no income coming in. So this is where we turn to all of you. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated and extremely helpful.

Mel’s C1 vertebra (the 1st vertebra from the skull) is in 3 pieces, leaving her in a C-collar for at least 3 months as she cannot move her head or neck without the danger and possibility of becoming paralyzed. Her xiphoid process (bottom of the sternum) was broken off, her left ankle is broken, and her right foot/ankle is either broken somewhere or it’s just extremely sprained. But she is doing relatively okay and able to move around with her walker, even though she is not allowed to put ANY pressure on her left foot. Every day she keeps pushing a little harder as she gets up and moves around, trying to do little things around the house to keep her up and moving.

Rob royally messed up his leg/hip, as he was pinned in the car. The impact caused the ball of his left hip to shatter through and nearly pulverize the socket of his pelvis. The ball of his femur ended up in his rib cage. He needed emergency surgery, getting 6 plates and 16 rods and bolts to keep his hip and pelvis together as he is looking at a total hip replacement in the near future. He is doing quite okay considering the circumstances. He, like Mel, is up moving around and doing a little more each and every day.

*K* had some internal injuries that happened because she had her seatbelt on, and although it saved her life, she still got some internal injuries. She has been through a lot, but she is getting better and better every day. She truly is a fighter for sure.

We are all home now. We will be okay! We’ve got this. We are still going to need our village at least for the next few weeks as we are only at the beginning of our road to recovery, and have many follow up appointments coming up.

But with that, that also means Rob and Mel are out of work for quite a while. No work equals no income. We do not want to get behind on bills, and it looks like that’s exactly what is going to happen. So we are reaching out to friends, family, strangers, and whoever can and is willing to help in any way possible as any and all help will be an absolute blessing and appreciated more than y’all could ever know.

Thank you to everyone who has and/or will help(ed) in any way possible, even if it was just being on the phone listening to us lose it, and/or sending good thoughts/vibes/prayers to the universe. We really appreciate all of it!

Thank you again for reading our story!

Rob, Mel, and *K*