From Tragedy and Trauma, A Miracle Emerged

As we approach the holiday season, we’re starting to think about where we’ll spend Christmas and what gifts we’ll get our loved ones. Before we get too focused on the millions of things on our to-do list, please take a moment for my good friend Jaimie and her beautiful daughters because their story is too tragic, yet miraculous, not to share.

Having already kissed Jaimie goodbye a few days earlier, six-year-old Piper and eight-year-Paige were looking forward to a weekend of fun in rural Nevada outdoors to enjoy the wildlife with their dad. In the early morning hours of Saturday, November 12, 2022, the girls were in the backseat of their dad’s truck as they headed south from their home in Tonopah on Highway 95. When they were driving through a remote area just south of Goldfield, Nevada, a vehicle going the opposite direction crossed the solid yellow line, striking their truck at an incredibly high rate of speed. Head-on. Good Samaritans tried to save as many victims as possible, but tragically the family in the other vehicle succumbed to their injuries.

Since the accident happened in such an isolated area, the most severely injured were Care Flighted or driven for hours by ambulance to the nearest trauma center in Las Vegas. This meant that there wasn’t medical transportation available for Paige and Piper. Jaimie rushed to the accident scene, and as soon as she could force her way through the traffic and chaos, she grabbed her broken and banged-up girls and rushed them to UMC’s Trauma ICU. One can hardly imagine Jaimie’s agony as she endured the two-hour drive with her terrified and traumatized children as they cried out in pain.

They spent three days in the hospital where they were treated for cuts, contusions, abrasions, and bones broken so severely that surgery was required.

Piper and Paige surviving the accident is nothing less than a true miracle and shows that God has other plans for these beautiful girls. That said, surviving this near-death experience does not come without a cost. As they recover from their physical injuries, it’s becoming clear that they’re showing signs of severe anxiety and mental duress. Jaimie has begun getting them the mental health support they need to get them through this difficult time.

All this also means Jaimie is unable to work her hourly job, so her means of income has stopped. Like many Americans nowadays, Jaimie and her girls were one paycheck away from a financial disaster. The accident occurring at Christmastime compounds the issue. We can help by ensuring Jaimie, Paige, and Piper have the funds they need to endure the long road ahead. This means obtaining reliable transportation and gas to drive the hundreds of miles between their home in Tonopah to medical appointments in Las Vegas or Reno. Then the hotel stays, food while away from home, and medication costs will be astronomical. Not to mention regular bills like rent and utilities don’t stop coming due just because a life-altering accident has occurred. Needless to say, what little bit of savings Jaimie set aside for Christmas gifts has entirely evaporated.

Jaimie got the best Christmas gift any parent in a similar situation could hope for: the lives of her beautiful daughters were spared. Now, please join me in helping to ensure that Jaimie and her girls get the funds they need to make this Christmas a great one and that they have the means to ensure their ongoing needs will be met. Even if you cannot donate, please consider sharing the story so that we can maximize the outreach because these girls deserve it!