Just six months after his installation as auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, Bishop Nelson Perez faced what he called ?a dramatic challenge of trust and hope? after suffering serious injuries when his car was involved in a deadly accident on the Long Island Expressway.
His episcopal motto is Confide et Spera, which translates to Trust and Hope, two qualities that help him deal with the challenges he faces throughout his life.
?It summarizes the essence of my spirituality and journey,? Bishop Perez said. ?God?s providence has guided my life and my family, here and there, with each phase preparing me for the next.?
He reflected on his parents? immigration from Cuba to the United States shortly before his birth, as well as what he described as ?the ups and downs of watching my family establish new roots as Cuban Americans; my wonderful experiences at my home parish of St. Joseph of the Palisades, West New York, New Jersey; and my great assignments as a priest in Philadelphia.?
Bishop Perez said these experiences ?form an integral part of the person I am today.?
One experience that would affect his ministry occurred the afternoon of Dec. 19, 2012, when he was involved in a massive, 35-car pileup on the Long Island Expressway.
?I was told later I was in the second car hit,? Bishop Perez said.
According to published and broadcast reports of the accident, a tractor-trailer hauling debris from Hurricane Sandy, which pummeled the East Coast in late October 2012 slammed into several cars on the expressway. The cars had slowed or stopped because of lane restrictions caused by road construction.
One report said the accident caused a chain-reaction pileup, with two vehicles catching fire. A 68-year-old grandmother, who ironically survived the hurricane, was killed. One driver in the pileup said he heard crashing behind his car that sounded like thunder. When he looked back, he saw nothing but glass and metal as the truck passed by and pushed the line of cars into each other. The truck driver was pulled from the cab before the truck caught fire.
Thirty-three people were injured, some critically.
?This began for me a journey, as I suffered multiple injuries,? the bishop said.
He spent two weeks in the intensive care unit at St. Charles Hospital, underwent surgery and what he called ?14 weeks of grueling outpatient physical therapy.?
Bishop Perez said the accident impacted him deeply.
?Needless to say, this was an intense, dramatic and life-changing experience, but it taught me what abandonment into God?s hands and, in this case, the hands of doctors, truly was,? he said. ?It was also wonderful and humbling to experience the human support from dozens of dedicated friends and family, my brother bishops and priests, the faithful and the incredible staff of St. Charles Hospital. All of them embodied powerful signs of God?s incarnational love and care.?
Although he was out of commission for a little more than a month, Bishop Perez said he looks back on that time and is ?completely amazed that, in addition to three physical therapy sessions a week for 14 weeks, I was able to complete the tasks assigned to me in my episcopal calendar.?
He called it ?simply amazing, simply grace; another building block of my formation.?
