Each of us will experience the loss of our parents at some point in our lives. It is a day that none of us want to come, but one that none of us can avoid because death is an inevitable part of life.
Dealing with loss is stressful enough, but dealing with it while also being the main caregiver for your five younger siblings may be too much to bear. Samantha Rodriguez, 20, is all too aware of this harsh truth since she is living it right now.
Samantha and her siblings had recently lost both of their parents to cancer. She took on the task of rearing her five younger siblings, who ranged in age from five to sixteen, as the family’s eldest living member.
When the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit learned of their tragic predicament, they resolved to give the kids a “Christmas to remember” last year.
The group informed the children that they would be taking them on a tour of the aviation hangar. What they didn’t realize was that inside the office, there were mounds of gifts waiting for them.
When they entered, Santa Claus greeted them with a hearty “Ho ho ho!” and the children quickly ran up to hug him. After that, they each opened their neatly wrapped gifts and gazed at the lovely stuff within with huge smiles.
The OCSO shared the surprise video on their Facebook page with the rest of the community. For the aircraft unit and the Rodriguez family, it was an incredible Christmas, and neither party expected it to end there.
Beautiful stories like these, on the other hand, don’t always end that way. Especially when you consider social media’s combined strength and a giving community.
Several members of the community saw the Christmas surprise video and contacted the deputies, wondering what further they could do to assist the Rodriguez siblings.
The OCSO surprised the family with an even larger surprise after obtaining enough money from numerous anonymous contributors — a brand new Nissan Versa!
Samantha was gifted with a brand new car by the OCSO, who expressed her gratitude by saying:
“You have no idea how important this is to us.” It’s huge assistance, to be honest. It’s difficult for me to do everything on my own, therefore I’m grateful to have people like you in my life.”
Samantha showed her younger siblings the car, and they couldn’t believe it when she informed them it belonged to them. “This is ours?” they kept asking, and when the truth finally dawned on them, all they could say was thank you to the sheriff’s office, and in the end, they exclaimed, “We love you guys!”
Now the Rodriguez siblings will have one less item to worry about, and they will be able to go around more easily.
See how the family was surprised with a fresh new car in the video below.
