It is a Christmas Miracle They Survived

January 2, 2205 update: Angie headed to Valencia yesterday to get surgery on her arm. In the midst of pain and travel, she was hit with more bad news: the travel insurance they purchased prior to moving to Spain is refusing to cover Chadwick's injuries, claiming they "haven't been covered long enough" for them to put in a claim. It is unclear how long Chad will need to remain in the hospital, which is four hours away from their apartment in Valencia, but best estimates are at least another month. Due to his femur injury, he will be unable to return to work for a very long time after he is released.

On December 21, after months of worry and effort to obtain their residency cards in their new home of Valencia, Spain, Angie and Chadwick excitedly got into their rental car after a long week of work and prepared to spend their first Christmas in the mountains. Chad would ski, Angie would relax, maybe call some friends and family to finally catch up. They would spend some quality time together, marveling at the challenges they'd overcome in the past eighteen months, when moving to Spain from Colorado had just been a fun dream.

Instead, I got a call from Angie that evening, saying there had been a wreck. Angie told me that night that she wasn't sure what was happening at first- she thought maybe Chadwick was just feeling giddy at the thought of their mountain Christmas celebration, and was being silly pretending he couldn't drive. But she quickly realized that he had lost consciousness while behind the wheel of their rental car. Because of Chad's height, his knee jammed under the dash, wedging his foot on the gas pedal. Angie estimated they were going 120 miles per hour through the steep mountain pass. Relying on her instincts, Angie grabbed the wheel and managed to stop the car by steering into some trees. "It was into the trees full force, or over the side of the mountain," she told me. "There is this narrative we keep hearing from the police, the ambulance, the hospital, that it's a miracle we're alive." She remembers the car flipping repeatedly, Chad waking up briefly to say "I'm sorry." They were rushed to a nearby hospital- when we talked that first night, Angie wasn't even sure where they were, or how long they'd been in an ambulance. A kind soul let her know that their beloved dog, Howie, who had finally joined them after his own months-long struggle to get to Spain, was miraculously uninjured and being cared for by a volunteer organization.

A week later, Chad is still in the ICU with multiple broken bones, lacerations, and internal bleeding that is slowly improving. Angie also has multiple injuries and will need surgery on her arm ASAP. They are working to stay positive and take each day as it comes; and, in a country that is still new to them, with a new language, customs, healthcare system, and family and friends on another continent, they need emotional as well as practical support.

The following message is from Angie's friend Laura, who speaks fluent Spanish and flew to Valencia on Christmas Eve to help Chadwick and Angie navigate as they begin the enormous task of recovering and figuring out what life looks like after everything changes-

"The financial side of things was extremely stressful today though and we’re still trying to figure out everything on that end. All at once Angie got emails saying that their hospital bills are not covered because they don’t have the correct health identifications and the rental car company (that we need to pay for the ambulance) told Angie her car is late and they threatened to send the police and her private health insurance said they won’t pay because they haven’t been enrolled for 8 months. So as you can imagine that side of things was extremely stressful for them and we still have a lot of logistical things to figure out."

I am writing as Angie and Chad's friend, and Angie's professional colleague, to ask for your help. Angie is self-employed, and they do not have the luxury of company benefits, being new residents of Spain still in the midst of a work visa for Chad. Angie spends her days as a therapist helping others heal from traumatic, life-altering events. Now, it's our turn to show them love and support until she can get back to her work.