Family Can’t Pay Bills After Accident — Mystery Person Provides $50,000 As Christmas Present

Nov 05, 2020

Have you ever experienced a financial miracle? Or do you know anybody that has ever experienced one? In 2019, one family in Idaho experienced a financial miracle during the Christmas season after they encountered a challenging period.

Erica Crow and her husband Brad who was struggling with a number of health problems could no longer pay for their bills as they had to cover many health expenses. At the time, the couple and their two adopted children lived in a small camp trailer as they couldn't afford to start building their house. But then a Christmas miracle happened that helped the family to get back on track.

According to East Idaho News, Brad had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the age of 14. He underwent chemotherapy as a way of treating this type of cancer, radiation, and eventually, doctors had to remove and replace a bone in his leg. In the summer of 2019, Erica and Brad planned to build a house for their family, but because it was getting late in the summer, they decided to first build a store. They had the plan of living in their camper in the store throughout the winter and then build their house the summer after.

As he was building the store, Brad slipped and broke his leg bone and eventually had to undergo surgery at the Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake City to have the bone artificially replaced. Although he thought he would recover soon, he fell very ill a few months down the road and ended up at the University of Utah due to a staph infection. He nearly died several times and underwent several surgeries. After the doctors had tried to cure the infection, they eventually needed to amputate Brad's leg. Not long after the amputation, he also required a hip replacement and is likely to have another hip replacement on his amputated leg since this hip is also deteriorating. 

Since then, the family had continued to reside in their camper in the store, hoping that Brad's health would improve so that he could start building their house. However, at the end of last year, when they were about to give up, help came, and no one expected such a gift. Annually, during the Christmas season, a secret Santa donates many gifts to families in need in East Idaho. Last year, the secret Santa gave more than $500,000 to families in need with the assistance of East Idaho News.

The philanthropic work kicked off in 2015 after the news director at East Idaho News, Nate Eaton, was called by an anonymous person who wanted to give out $100,000 worth of gifts to people in need. All he needed from the media station was the news site to help identify people who needed the money. This project was a great breakthrough, and many people across Idaho got nominated during the first trial. 

And since then, the project has grown and evolved rapidly, with the East Idaho News Secret Santa YouTube channel gaining more than 33,000 followers. Since this project started, they are in the fifth year, and the donation money has moved up to $500,000, with the media house nominating more than 2000 people.

According to East Idaho News, secret Santa helps people who have run out of money, have specific needs, and are hardworking. And last year, the East Idaho television news team showed up at Eric and Brad's home. And although they were familiar with the anonymous donation that was going on in their area, they never expected that the East Idaho News crew would nominate them.

Hence, when the television crew visited Brad and his family, Erica was the first to see them and immediately started crying since she could not believe it. When they opened the gift, they discovered that they had received $50,000 to cater for Brad's medical expenses and complete their home.

Even though there is still a long way to go for the family, the $50,000 will play a significant role in bringing back joy to the family. In a few months, Brad and his family will relocate to their new home, and he will also undergo his hip surgery, reports an update from East Idaho News. This will mean that Brad will search for a new job and go back to supporting his family.

Thanks to the secret donor, many families such as Brad's enjoy their Christmas day with laughter and joy. Although this program runs only in East Idaho, many people across the United States and other countries appreciate the work done by the secret Santa and East Idaho News. Thanks to social media, the project is now known worldwide, and it not only benefits the people getting the gifts but also the viewers watching the videos.

According to comments on the video, the anonymous Santa is a fantastic person with a big heart who has compassion for the needy. If you want to nominate a friend in need for the secret Santa program, visit their website and fill out the application form. Don't forget to send it on to a friend.