Hi, my name is Sarah. As a parent, this is something you never want to have to write.

Today, I am taking a moment away from my eldest son’s side to humbly ask for support.

On August 22nd, 2025, at around 10:30 am, an older woman in a hurry made a careless move in her Honda SUV to perform an illegal U-turn on a beautifully clear Friday mid-morning. Her lack of attention in an instant completely derailed my son's life. His future hopes and plans were completely derailed, possibly changed forever. The motorcycle ride he was on with his buddy Nick was ended abruptly when her vehicle T-boned Andrew’s bike, causing him to fly and slide over 40 ft before he came to a stop on a trail beside the East Riverside Rd. It was then he looked and saw his biggest injury that occurred that morning; his lower right leg was completely mangled and crushed. As he lay screaming, his good buddy Nick ran to his aid. (Side note, internet—if you could find the bystander who made it to my son’s side and provided a tourniquet before even the ambulance and police arrived, I’d like to thank that hero, who played an important role in saving my son’s life.) When Drew arrived at the St. George Regional Hospital, he was met with a great team who got him into emergency surgery quickly, trying to save his lower right leg and foot. It was during this time I received one of the worst phone calls of my life. To be so far away in Houston, Texas, and hear from a hospital social worker that my son, who I just saw the week prior, was in a motorcycle accident and in emergency surgery was something of an out-of-body experience. The surgeons kept me informed of his condition and prognosis and never left me guessing. They worked hard to salvage what they could, but his injuries were too severe to save his right foot and lower leg. They had no choice but to amputate. I was assured the biggest reason my son was still with us today was due to his proper use of his helmet and bike gear he wore that day. (I’m gonna need to write a letter to the manufacturer too today, dang.) His family and friends feel God’s grace is the reason my son survived such a horrible accident. God has plans for this 24-year-old. In an instant, he was nearly taken and is lucky to be alive. I personally thank God continually as the hours pass.

As one can imagine, our son has a long road to recovery.

In this moment, Drew needs desperately to be able to maintain low stress and a clear head to focus on his healing, learning how to walk without his right leg, learning how to navigate through the extreme physical and emotional pain of losing a limb, while not having to worry about keeping his independence. As you can imagine, that is extremely important to a 24-year-old man.

Drew is a welder at Southern Utah Metalworks in St. George, Utah, but now will be unable to work again for quite some time in his field of expertise. His livelihood is inseparably tied to his mobility. If you’re reading this and take note of the cover photo, you can see how obviously this injury restricts employment opportunities in his field.

I’d also like to emphasize the reason my son moved away from family and old friends to start his independence in St. George, Utah, of all places, was due to his extreme love of the outdoors. Drew first came to Utah to help a friend finish a few welding projects and quickly fell in love with the city and all its natural beauty. He left his family in Texas and Washington to live and work full-time in St. George after that. Drew’s life outside of work involves hiking, camping, fishing, refurbishing an old boat, and working on his beloved 350Z. Skateboarding, rock climbing. With that said, you can see how an injury like this would devastate his day-to-day.

As his mom, I am desperately trying to keep his life and his independence intact as much as possible through his trying recovery. Which is the reason I sit and write.

Every part of Drew’s life—work, pleasure, clothing, living—is changing. Things that were simple tasks are now huge challenges, such as climbing the stairs of his apartment building. Something so easy prior to Aug. 22nd is now a painful and difficult reminder of how much has changed for him.

If you can find it in your heart to donate to help in this difficult time, it would greatly impact his ability to continue to maintain his independence. As much as I wish he would just let me take him home and hover over him, making sure all his needs are met and he’s well-fed and cared for, it’s not going to make things better for him in the way he needs. His biggest fear, I believe, is losing hold of his independence. He’s already lost so much; I don’t want him to lose all he’s worked so hard for—that is the one thing I worry he may never recover from. Leaving his newfound friends, his apartment, his freedoms, and independence is something I don’t want him to lose, as I know it would devastate him.

Any amount, big or small, would be greatly appreciated by my kind-hearted, loving son. To help him keep some sense of normalcy during this difficult transition would be greatly and forever appreciated.

If you aren’t able to donate, we humbly ask that you keep Andrew in your prayers. May God bless you, and we thank you for considering our son during this time.

Sincerely,

Andrew’s Mom

Sarah Gruben