A normal workday shouldn’t end in an eight-month fight for your life. But for Dean, a trucking company owner and father of five, that is exactly what happened last December.
He was down in Texas checking a tire on one of his diesel trucks on the side of the road. Without warning, the tire exploded and threw him violently onto the asphalt. He fractured his skull in multiple places, breaking bones right under his eye sockets, and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. He spent weeks in a Texas hospital and on a ventilator before moving to Utah for months of rehab at the University of Utah. It took eight grueling months before he could finally go home to his family in Howe.
For all those months, his kids barely got to see him while he was stuck in hospital beds states away. We can’t even imagine how hard it is for a family to just wait and pray their dad survives.
His wife, Tarz, stayed faithfully by his side through it all. But coming home brought a whole new set of challenges for traumatic brain injury recovery. Their split-level house simply isn’t built for a wheelchair. They had to set up a makeshift bathroom just to get by while fighting with insurance for help. Right now, whenever Dean needs to shower, Tarz drives him 30 minutes to her parents’ home in Arco.
Loading a grown man into a vehicle and driving half an hour is an exhausting daily job. But God knew exactly what this family was going through and sent help through Secret Santa.
This year, an anonymous local Secret Santa is giving away $1 million through the East Idaho News elves to spread holiday cheer to people going through hard times. Somehow, Dean’s story reached his ears, and he stepped in to help.
The news team intercepted the couple outside a physical therapy appointment to deliver an early Christmas gift. Secret Santa is paying for a complete bathroom remodel for wheelchair accessibility at home.
Tarz started crying almost as soon as the elves walked up. When they apologized for making her cry, she said, “They just live in my eyes now.” But even after everything they’ve been through, she focused on the good. “We’re good, just thankfully still here, and we’re still seeing improvement.”
While the whole world is getting ready for Christmas, there are so many people out there like Dean’s family going through some really heavy struggles. So this Christmas, let’s make someone else’s joy our celebration. We get so busy with the holidays, but Christmas was never about the lights and decorations. It’s a story of love and sacrifice, and that same love should shine through us to the people around us.
Setting up a nativity scene, hanging lights outside the house or buying the perfect gifts won’t bring glory to God on their own. God is glorified when we show His love to others, so they experience His grace through us and end up praising Him for His goodness. Let’s show the people around us the true reason for the season through our love and kindness.
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11 (NKJV)
WATCH: Secret Santa Surprises Dad Who Survived Tire Explosion
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