Six months ago, on June 19th, we packed our last boxes into storage and prepared to spend the summer exploring South Carolina to find the perfect place to buy our first home. Two days later, ready to check out of the local hotel and head toward SC that evening, I got a call that my husband had been in an accident and they were trying to get him out of his vehicle—he was trapped while it began filling with smoke. Dan was airlifted to the hospital with multiple injuries—wheelchair bound for a few months, and is only now beginning to walk again.
Dan has spent every day—both in his work and free time—serving others. He’s an EMT and safety specialist who’s deployed around the country for disaster relief, volunteered on a fire department, provided care to countless patients, and devoted his career to saving lives. My husband is a hero in the community, and an even bigger hero to myself and our children.
His medical leave was unpaid, he was denied short-term disability, and denied workers comp four times. I’ve been caring for Dan and our four young children full-time, which has made working impossible.
For two months, we were homeless. We quickly exhausted all of our savings on hotels, gas, and food—juggling hospitalizations, surgeries, therapies, and phone calls—while keeping our children fed and finding places to sleep each night.
Dan will soon be medically cleared for work, and is actively searching. I recently graduated, and am rebuilding my small business. We are doing everything we can, but we are barely hanging on.
Despite the dark times we’re facing—God’s presence in our life has been far more profound! Truly, I look forward to writing so much more about our testimony through it all, when I’m able to.
If you’ve helped our family in any way—please know how tremendously humbled and grateful we are! From the bottom of our hearts—thank you!
