Forgiveness. That’s a tough one. There aren’t a lot of people who would hang with someone who nearly cost them their life. But Mark Joseph Peredo didn’t have a problem with it. He was just happy to have survived the ordeal that could have ended in tragedy in 2015. But did he get mad at the driver that crashed into him? Perhaps a little. Did he get even? No. Instead, he invited the man to go hiking with him at the Camino de Santiago Trail so the two could heal.Several of Mark’s facial bones and foot had been badly broken. His injuries and treatment made it impossible to walk right for up to a year.
But he had no idea that the man who smashed into him was also suffering. Luke Hutchins crashed into Mark because he had suffered his first, but not his last seizure.
What’s worse is this condition, called cavernous angioma, would end his life as he knew it. He couldn’t drive, work, or look after his kids. But Mark didn’t know this or even who Luke was. He was just angry.
Once Mark realized Luke was not at fault, he invited him to go with him to walk the 500-mile Camino de Santiago, which starts in France and ends in Spain, which they did in 2017.
**During their 40-day trip, Luke and Mark talked about that day and bonded, but most importantly they let go so they could move on.** “For me, going through this process of healing and letting go and not hating is something I needed to do—to prove to myself, to prove to my children that you have to stay the course and that something good will come from it,” said Mark. Watch the video below.