Support Elliot’s Road to Recovery

November 5, 2024, at 7:49 am - my baby brother, Elliot John Dykstra, was less than a mile from home on his way to work and was involved in an accident with a school bus. I joke with him that he took all the fun out of the phrase: “I feel like I got hit by a bus.” :)

By the grace of God, Elliot survived this accident that really should have taken his life. He has broken vertebrae in his neck, mid-back, and low back. He has ribs broken in multiple places and fractures in his pelvis. When EMS got to the scene, they found him walking around, looking for children to help. With all these broken bones, The guys from the towing company cannot believe he is alive and have told me that they have tried to figure out how he survived, let alone walk around.

Elliot is now home from the hospital and is looking at a 12-week recovery with a full neck brace and back brace. Elliot and his fiancée Kiaha are the parents to my beautiful 1.5-year-old niece Raya and have a baby boy on the way in February. Elliot is the primary provider for their family, so his inability to move and help out has been hard on him. But something he said is: “I’m happy to be the one with these injuries if it means everyone else walked away OK. I’m happy to carry this burden because God spared all our lives when it could have been so much worse.” And I’ve never been more proud of him.

Elliot has no memories of the accident and only remembers waking up in the ER in Sheldon, and for that, we are THANKFUL.

Time and time again, we have seen and witnessed the absolute miracle of his life, and the lives of everyone on the bus, and it has been a privilege to watch it unfold. We are seeing little God winks everywhere, and it has been a gift.

Elliot is now looking at a long recovery, so even in the midst of all the blessings, there are worries about helping provide for his family, paying the household bills, and medical bills to come. He has already been told he will probably have some sort of pain for the rest of his life, but again, it’s a burden he’s willing to bear - because everyone is alive today.

So many people have asked how they can help… And so with their blessing, I’ve created a GoFundMe for them, as they face the unknowns of having another baby, prolonged healing, life with a toddler, and planning a wedding for the coming summer.

They have a lot on their plate, and I’d love to relieve some of that burden for them. If you feel led to help cover some medical bills and household bills, any contribution is greatly appreciated. I set the goal low, but I’d love to give them a sense of peace moving forward into the next 11 weeks of healing.

Psalm 139: 4-6 “Before a word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely. YOU HEM ME IN, BEFORE AND BEHIND ME, AND YOU LAY YOUR HAND UPON ME. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.”

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time to read his story. We covet prayers and encouragement in the coming weeks. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

—Abbie Dreise, Elliot’s big sister