My father, Charles, only a week after his 58th birthday, had a medical episode due to his diabetes while driving to work, resulting in a head-on collision at high speed with a rock truck. They had to cut the door off in order to remove him from the vehicle. They - officer on the scene and EMS - were treating it as a potential fatality; that’s how close we were to losing him. He was immediately taken to the trauma center, then into the ICU with 14 injuries, including major injuries like bleeding in the brain, orbital floor fracture, bilateral pelvic fractures, neck fracture, air in the chest cavity, and many more. He’s been through numerous long major surgeries and recently developed an infection in the surgical site on his face due to unsanitary conditions and lack of care once he was transferred out of the ICU to another floor. He had another surgery to drain the abscess on his face and is now in ISU to ensure he gets proper care, so he does not get another avoidable infection.

He is still unable to walk; however, doctors are confident he will walk again, but it is going to be a long road to recovery with rehab.

My dad has always been a hard worker, always doing manual labor; it’s killing him knowing he won’t be able to return to work for the foreseeable future. He's still in tremendous pain every day, and we have no idea when he will be in the clear for rehab. It’s been almost 5 weeks in the hospital so far.

He not only supports himself but also my mom, sister, and 4 kitties in his household. If the holidays weren’t already stressful enough, bills don’t stop, and my mom is exhausting every resource and side job she can get to make sure he does not have to worry about bills while recovering. But as we all know, times are incredibly tough, and despite all efforts, they are still short on rent and bills. On top of that, we’re terrified of the amount of medical bills that are going to start piling up.

We’re so thankful for all the prayers and support. If you know my dad, you know he’s a strong man despite his diabetes and the hardships he’s faced. He is once again proving his strength; doctors are even amazed he pulled through and tolerated back-to-back major surgeries. It’s truly a miracle he is here.

Donations will help keep a roof over my mother and sister’s head while my dad is still hospitalized and out of work.

You can see the severity of the damage to the car he was driving.