Life has its ups and downs as we all know and sometimes those downs become too much to bear.

Greetings, My name is Joseph Padilla and this is the story of one of the downs my family has encountered.

March 17th was one of the happiest day of my life. My wife and I welcomed our second child, Joseph Angel Padilla Jr. into this world. We couldn't have asked for an easier delivery; no complications, no problems. We were on cloud nine.





Fast-forward a month and a half to May 27th. I was on my way home from a day-long shift in the oilfield when I fell asleep at the wheel and hit a drainage barrier. I flipped my car twice, totalling it completely. By some miracle, I walked away with just a few bruises and some soreness.





There's that saying "third time's a charm" and it couldn't be truer.

June 1st, my wife Lily was admitted to University Hospital in San Antonio. The days leading up to taking her to University were stressful to say the least. She had flu-like symptoms that were getting more aggressive by the day. We took her to two separate urgent cares and an ER before we were told to rush her to University Hospital. She was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. I've never heard of this syndrome before so I did some research. In layman's terms, her immune system is attacking her nerves, wreaking havoc on her body.





We have a daughter and son that want to be in the arms of their mother and according to the doctors, it will be weeks, maybe months before that happens.

I'm doing something I normally don't do--asking for help.

With Lily hospitalized, I've taken a leave from work without pay to take care of our children and be at her bedside as much as I can. Paying for expenses without an income has proven to be near-impossible. With your generous donations, it will make paying our bills achievable, allowing me to be at my wife's side.

Thank you.