Hi, my name is Debbie, and I am fundraising for my daughter and her family, Melinda and Dan Staniec

On Wednesday, October 5, at 2:57 pm, our son-in-law, Daniel Staniec, was in a severe car accident. He was on his way to get keys to a Cabin, surprising our daughter, Melinda, for an overnight getaway to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary. A semi-truck hit him from behind, and his car hit another semi-truck and then rolled four times, leaving him upside down hanging in their van. Praise the Lord; he was alive! They had to use the jaws of life to cut him out of the van and airlifted him via LiFeflight to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Thankfully, he had no internal bleeding or head injuries; several scans were done. His arm was broken in many places, and surgery was performed on Thursday morning. He also has damage to his radial nerve, which controls many of his hand movements. They hope this will heal independently, but additional surgery could be needed.

Dan and Melinda have been married for 18 years and have three wonderful children. They are a hard-working family, and this will be financially challenging. Dan will probably be unable to work for at least 6-8 weeks. His job has started the paperwork for short-term disability. The short-term disability will be a blessing, but only about 55-60% of what Dan typically makes. They are working with the insurance companies too. Their van was older, paid off and fully covered, but in today’s market to replace it will be expensive. Melinda works hard as a server at Texas Roadhouse; she must take off a few days to take care of Dan, and then she will be working more shifts.

We are setting up this fund to help them make all their bills for October and November, especially since Dan can’t work. Some friends and family have asked how they can help; we felt setting up this go-fund would allow those who would like to give financially, could do so. Any amount is helpful, and even if you can only keep them in your prayers, that certainly is so important and special to them.

Thank you in advance, and never take even a moment for granted.

We are not promised our next breath. Tell your family you love them.