They say “when it rains, it pours”. My name is Humberto and this is my history.
In the month of February 2024, while driving my truck through the state of New Jersey on a secondary road, when I reached a light, a car tried to cross the intersection while I had the green light. Fortunately, the accident was not serious for either me or the driver of the car. But my truck jackknifed and ended up in a bad position, with damage to the cab. The cost of the tow truck and the repairs added up to more than $12,000.
That same year, in the month of August, I was arriving at a truck stop where I usually park my truck in the state of Virginia, and after taking exit 98 off Interstate 95, it was as if I lost consciousness for a moment, and when I regained it, I was with the truck stopped in the middle of the truck stop. But I felt like my head was spinning and so was my body. I was like that for a few moments and decided to get out of the cab. Once on the truck stop platform, my body and head kept spinning and I couldn’t stop it. Fortunately, at that moment another driver saw me and asked if I didn’t feel well and said it would be better to call an ambulance. That person, who was also a driver, told me he would park the truck since it was in the middle of the entrance to the diesel pumps.
After waiting a few minutes, the ambulance arrived and we went to the hospital in Mechanicsville, a city near Richmond, Virginia. At the hospital they ran tests and started giving me antibiotics and IV fluids. After several hours, and not finding anything, they let me go.
Three days later the hospital called me and urgently asked me to return; they told me they had found an infection in my blood, but they didn’t know what was causing it.
I went back to the hospital and stayed there, admitted for four days. I was always connected to an IV drip and every six hours I received a bag of antibiotics through my vein. At the end of the fourth day, and after several tests including an MRI because they found a small spot on my kidney, they let me go, confirming that the infection had already been overcome.
The bill I received for all this hospital work and treatment was $37,439.71, a bill that is still unpaid, as well as the money I borrowed from a family member to fix the truck.
In total, I ended up with a debt of $49,439.71
And the worst part, to conclude this series of bad luck, in February 2025 the truck completely broke down, and I had to sell it to a mechanic for parts at a giveaway price.
As of now, I am supporting my family working with Uber, with income that only covers basic expenses, but never enough to pay off the debt I have.
I know there is a lot of kindness and solidarity out there, and I hope that you, who are reading this sad story, can contribute something.
Thank you and God bless you.
