Sometimes a situation will arise that reminds us of how quickly and drastically things in our lives can change in an instant.

My wife Mandy  is from rural southeast Missouri. A friend of ours, Burt Hahs, whom she has known all her life, was in major auto accident earlier this year.  Burt is the kind of guy who everyone likes, he’s always there to help out and I have never heard anyone say a bad thing about him.

I got the following information from the Facebook page that his family created to keep everyone updated:

“Burt was involved in a wreck in Jackson, MO on August 6th when a driver going between 80-90 mph, slammed into Burt’s truck twice. His seat was broken (not sure by which hit) causing him to lie down. The first hit knocked the bed down puncturing the gas tank while pushing his truck down the street. The second hit caused his truck to spin, pinning the driver side up against a parked van, blocking him inside. At some point he was knocked unconscious.

Luckily, his friend/coworker was able to kick out the passenger window. Burt at some point came to, but the gas tank on the truck had exploded, causing severe burns either before or while Burt was crawling out of the passenger window.

Burt was flown to St. John’s Mercy hospital and was treated in the burn/trauma unit. He suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns on roughly 60% of his body, a couple of staples for the abrasion on his head and few fractured vertebrae.”

Burt spent a few weeks in the hospital and after undergoing multiple skin graft surgeries he was released. He is getting better all the time, but he will need physical therapy for some time to come.

Which brings me to the point of this particular blog.

Burt’s family and friends are holding a benefit for him in Jackson MO on Dec 1st, 2012. There will be a silent auction, a live auction, a dinner and a dance….and I will be there bending steel and breaking stuff.  All the proceeds will go directly to Burt. If you have ever wanted to give to a charity but were hesitant to do so because you aren’t sure how much of your donation actually makes it to the cause, I understand. In this case, it all goes directly to Burt’s medical expenses. Every bit of it.

I would like to enlist YOUR help and support.  Burt’s family has set up a PAYPAL ACCOUNT so that people can donate money. If you would like to help out, click the paypal link, then go to “send money”  The name for the account is Loeta Hahs and the email address is burtonhahs@hotmail.com.

If you are able to do give something, we would all appreciate it. If you can’t, please go to the Facebook page and give it a “like” and say a prayer for Burt.