Death nearly claimed a boy one night in August. Determined to fight back, his mother, Alida Tomas Mendez, spent months bringing him back to the world of the living.

That day started off like any other for Mendez, a 38-year-old factory worker. She awoke before dawn in her garden-style apartment in Homestead, turned on the lights in the galley kitchen, and made breakfast. It was 5 a.m. She cooked for a family of seven: herself, her partner and her five children, including Jennifer Ramos, 21, Pedro Ramos, 17, Jonathan Mejia, 11, Julio Mejia, 6, and Yaily Mejia, 3.

The three middle children rushed off to catch the school bus. The 21-year-old left for her job at a movie theater. Mendez and her partner dropped off Yaily — a 3-year-old color-pencil artist — at daycare, and headed to work at a farm and plant potting factory. She saw Pedro, the teenager, after school when he dropped off his backpack and grabbed his bike to head to a nearby gym for a workout before dinner.

After a long day, Mendez cooked dinner — her go-to meal consisting of black beans, white rice and a fried egg or omelet. That’s when a call came in. It was a paramedic. Her son Pedro, he said, had been in an accident. The 17-year-old had been struck by a car. He was in critical condition and being flown to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Mendez made the one-hour trek to the Medical District, where she met with one of the doctors tending to her son. As Pedro pedaled home, the doctor told her, a driver had slammed into the teen and his bicycle at a red light. Her son flew off the seat and hit the ground, his head cracking against the pavement. His chances of survival, the doctor said, were slim.

After weeks in critical condition, Ramos survived.

Mendez was at his side during the most crucial times at the hospital. She was with him when he returned home weeks later, during the recovery process, which is still ongoing. She no longer works her regular work week, changing to a part-time schedule to accommodate Ramos’ doctor visits and physical therapy. Her and her partner’s savings — a total of $4,000 — went towards covering Ramos’ copayments.

When asked by the staff at her kids’ childcare center how she managed after the accident, Mendez said, “’I’m marvelous’ I told them, but I thought to myself, ‘If only you knew the pain I carried inside. But (I think) if someone shares pain, then that’s not good because you’re bringing sadness to others,” she said. “It is better to be positive, (think) all will turn out well.”

Her resilience is the reason she deserves a Christmas miracle and help from Wish Book donors, said Jasmine Martinez, a coordinator at the Redland Christian Migrant Association South Dade Child Development Center, the childcare program that cares for Mendez’s youngest kids.

From the first day Martinez met Mendez at the school, she said the social butterfly always said hello, offering a smile and checking in with the staff. The collision in August trampled Mendez’s spirit. Martinez wanted to help return light to Mendez’s life, so she nominated the mother for assistance from Wish Book.

Alida represents many immigrants, Martinez said, people who are “in this country trying to move forward, trying to always help their families. I believe that one way or another this can give her faith and hope that she can move on.”

The family hopes Wish Book donations will pay for a laptop for Pedro — he’s catching up on the first semester of 11th grade from home and researching post-high school plans — as well as a home copy machine and printer for the kids’ schoolwork, perhaps the FPL bill, rent and clothes for the children.

Goodbye Guatemala, Hello USA

Born in Guatemala, Mendez grew up in a village outside the city of Huehuetenango. Surrounded by mountains, Mendez lived near a coffee plantation in a one-bedroom home with a dirt floor. She was one of 10 children. Before she learned how to read, Mendez was pulled out of school to pick coffee beans. Her father believed it futile to keep his daughters in school.

Life was limited to work and home, the latter often proving more difficult than the former. Her father was an alcoholic and expressed his outrage by beating Mendez’s mother and siblings. She was no exception. A mistake with chores cost her dearly. One oddly shaped or burnt tortilla led to her father grabbing her wrist and placing her hand on a sizzling stove.

Mendez dreamed of escaping Guatemala. Twenty-five years ago, with the help of her brothers, Mendez traveled 2,244 miles to the United States and never looked back.

She landed in Atlanta, but soon found the city brought new challenges. Mendez worked on farms and slept under bridges. Landlords, she said, refused to rent to immigrants. She landed in Moultrie, about an hour’s drive from Tallahassee.

New chapter in Homestead

A work opportunity — with greater pay — drew her to Miami months after Hurricane Andrew devastated the city in August 1992. She built her new life in Homestead, working on a farm and renting an apartment nearby.

Ruben Martinez, Mendez’s boss for about 15 years, said Mendez quickly learns new skills. Nothing stumps her.

“She’s been a good employee,” Martinez said. “Alida has learned a lot. She goes the distance to learn a lot of things.”

Her boss and nonprofit organizations helped Mendez during the most challenging moments of her adult life, including raising two kids on her own. She chose independence over an unfaithful and abusive partner.

Love finally came. A friendship at work blossomed into a romance. Mendez’s partner embraced a stepfather’s duties. Eleven years ago, Mendez and her partner welcomed their first child together. Now they have three as well as the two that Mendez brought to their relationship.

Grant a wish. Make a difference.

How to help: Wish Book is trying to help this family and hundreds of others in need this year. To donate, pay securely at MiamiHerald.com/wishbook.

Love for his mother

For Ramos, his family — in particular his mother — motivates him to recover as quickly as possible.

An aspiring Marine and engineer, Ramos said he wants one day to ease his parents’ financial burden and stress. They’ve come a long way from rat-infested apartments with leaks in the ceiling. He said he wants to help his mother in her mission of providing the best life possible for their family.

Help from Wish Book, Ramos said, would make a big difference for all of his family. He said, “It would help us a lot. It would help us take the next step forward in life to actually get to where we want to be.”

How to help

To help this Wish Book nominee and the more than 100 other nominees who are in need this year:

▪ To donate, use the coupon found in the newspaper or pay securely online through www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook

▪ For more information, call 305-376-2906 or emailWishbook@MiamiHerald.com

▪ The most requested items are often laptops and tablets for school, furniture, and accessible vans

▪ Read all Wish Book stories on www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook