A Secret Santa brings hope to father of 5 and his family after explosion nearly destroyed his life

HOWE — A local Secret Santa is spreading holiday cheer across eastern Idaho, giving away $1 million to people who deserve a little extra magic this Christmas.

Every day until the end of the year, the East Idaho News elves will deliver surprises on Secret Santa’s behalf.

Dean and his wife Tarz have five children and live in Howe.

Dean has his own trucking company and was in Texas last December when he was involved in a terrible accident while changing a tire on one of his diesel trucks.

He stopped on the side of the road to check on it, and while doing so, the tire blew up and threw him with so much force into the asphalt that he fractured his skull in many places and broke bones, even under his eye sockets.

There was so much damage done to his body that he was hospitalized in Texas for months before he could be moved to the University of Utah. He remained in Utah until August, which meant he had not been home for eight months.

Dean’s children did not get to see him very often. Tarz has been faithful in caring for him and has had to jump through so many hoops for Dean to be able to come home.

Because he’s in a wheelchair and can not move very easily in their split-level home, the family has had to set up a makeshift bathroom. When Dean needs to shower, Tarz drives him 30 minutes to her parents’ home in Arco.

They are in desperate need of a bathroom remodel so Dean can access it more easily.

When Secret Santa heard about Dean and Tarz, he asked the East Idaho News Elves to surprise them with an early Christmas gift. Check out the video in the player above.

If you know someone deserving of a Secret Santa surprise, nominate them here.