The real life of a truck driver. This life is not easy, being away from friends, family, and especially your most beloved ones. The work we do is not just for money but survival in this economy. Being on the road for weeks at a time, knowing the ones who usually appreciate your work and sacrifice is typically your family. If more people knew the dangers behind driving a large semi-truck, maybe it would open the world to the dangers their family endures, knowing that any trip could be their last.

In this case, Elias was setting up his tarp for a large shipment that was set to leave at 6:30 pm, where a typical setup turned into a fight for his life. While tarping, he slipped and fell off a 15ft high piece of machinery he was trying to cover and landed on his left side. As he fell, he desperately tried covering his face and head as he braced for impact, causing him to break his arm and several teeth in the process. By the grace of God, he was not alone on the field and was seen falling by others around him. The pain in his chest distracted him from the pain in his face and arm. He was taken to the hospital where it was discovered that he had 7 broken ribs, a broken wrist,a bruised lung, and a punctured spleen. There was no current trauma doctor and he was advised he would be flown to San Antonio for further treatment after they mentioned it was nothing major. On his helicopter ride, he was in and out of consciousness and his stats were dropping to dangerous levels. Upon arrival in San Antonio, trauma doctors revealed the true extent of his injuries, finding large quantities of internal bleeding that was beginning to take his life. They quickly took him into the ER to find the source of the bleeding, which was discovered to be his spleen that had completely ruptured in Laredo before his flight. He lost a total of 4 liters of blood, but he was alive. The Lord listened to our prayers that night as we held onto hope that we could have Elias with us one more time. "He's alive! He's going to be ok. He's alive." we cried and thanked God since then for another minute, another hour, another day, another week, and another month, and every single second he is here with us.

As time heals his wounds, we as his family worked hard to make things safe for him at home, taking loans and donations from friends and family, knowing the hospital bill will land in the mail soon. We ask for donations to help a fellow truck driver get back on his feet financially so that he can go back to work, not only doing what he loves but to help pull his family out of the debt they accumulated. All the money will go towards paying the hospital for saving his life and giving him this second chance in life. By God's grace, may He protect all drivers in the cab, on the road, and at all times so they can continue to move this economy forward as well for you and for us all.