Help Get Eliud

Many of you know Eliud, our great friend and vineyard manager of the past 30 years. On Thursday, January 22nd, Eliud suffered a major hemorrhagic stroke while at work near the upper part of our ranch. No one was aware that anything happened until he did not show up later in the evening and, after an extensive search, we found Eliud about 100 yards down a ravine where he had tumbled after suffering the stroke. This was about 8 to 10 hours after his stroke. With the help of CalFire emergency services and the great Cachagua Fire Department volunteers, we had him air lifted to the Natividad Hospital Trauma Center in Salinas.  The following day we had him transported to UCSF so he would receive the finest medical services available. His neurosurgeon believes that, although there is significant trauma, Eliud is strong and will make a full recovery, barring any unforeseen setbacks. That being said, it will be a long recovery and will take a lot of rehabilitation once he is out of the woods.

Eliud was born in Guatemala in 1960, one of four children. His mother and stepfather, Bralio, emigrated to the US while Eliud remained in Guatemala to finish his education in electronics. With no great future ahead of him in Guatemala he headed for the US in 1982. Eliud’s stepfather was working at the time for our neighbor, Durney Vineyards. Bralio asked my father if we might have a position for his young stepson and Eliud started working on the ranch in 1984 as a ranch hand. Over the next few years Eliud’s responsibilities increased and he moved into a small house on the property. In 1986 we had our first grape harvest and in 1987 Eliud married his wife, Maria. In December 1989, through hard work and dedication, Eliud became our official vineyard manager. Eliud moved into a larger house on the ranch where he has raised his three children and a grandchild. To this day, Eliud manages not only the entire ranch and cattle business but also the vineyards. Eliud is the finest person I know and I’m sure those of you who also know Eliud will certainly agree with me. 

Naturally, Dawn and I are doing everything we can to assist Eliud and his family both financially and emotionally, and we provide Eliud with health insurance which will cover many of his medical expenses. However, the family will face many challenges and have significant expenses in addition to those that the insurance covers and what we can assist with. The community outreach has been unbelievable and all your thoughts, prayers and good wishes have been so well received and have truly helped Eliud’s recovery. We ask you now if you can assist in any way possible to help create a fund for Eliud and his family to get them through these difficult times. Dawn and I would like to start this fund with a $1,000 donation and we hope you will assist us in achieving or even exceeding our goal of $25,000 over the next few months.

On behalf of Eliud and his family, many thanks to all for your continued good wishes and support.  

Please visit the online fundraising website started to help Eliud and his family.  ANY donation helps.  Let's get Eliud "Back on the Ranch"!