{"id":21120,"date":"2017-07-19T19:53:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T19:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident-68113\/"},"modified":"2017-07-19T19:53:00","modified_gmt":"2017-07-19T19:53:00","slug":"pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope phones trash man who lost legs in accident"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Pope_Francis_at_the_General_Audience_in_St_Peters_Square_Sept_21_2016_Credit_Daniel_Ibanez_1_CNA.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2017 \/ 01:53 pm (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Maximiliano Acu\u00f1a is a garbage collector in Buenos Aires who earlier this year was injured in a serious accident that left him without legs.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, he was surprised to receive an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis.<\/p>\n<p>The Pope offered words of encouragement, 33-year-old Acu\u00f1a told the Argentine Morfi Television program.<\/p>\n<p>On March 22, the father of five children had been collecting garbage in a Buenos Aires neighborhood when he was struck by a car going some 80 miles an hour.<\/p>\n<p>As a result of the accident, both of his legs had to be amputated.<\/p>\n<p>A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, decided to tell Pope Francis what happened in an e-mail, in which he explained that the \u201cdoctors' prognosis was for the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him,\u201d Vera told the Holy Father.<\/p>\n<p>However, Acu\u00f1a surprised doctors when he came out of the coma on the third day. Two days later, he was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room. \u201cIn a few weeks he was already home with his five children,\u201d Vera related in his message to the Pope.<\/p>\n<p>This July 18, Acu\u00f1a was getting ready to be honored at a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Legislature when he got a special call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI'm Pope Francis. A friend (Vera) sent me a letter, and I was moved and struck by how much strength you have,\u201d the voice said on the other end of the line. \u201cAlways go forward, because you're an example.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Acu\u00f1a recounted these words with emotion at a ceremony in front of hundreds of other garbage collectors.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Vera is working with the general secretary of the Truckers Union, Pablo Moyano, to propose that March 22 be declared \u201cWaste Collectors' Day,\u201d in tribute to this young collector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGod gave me my life back, because they removed both legs, but everything that is happening to me is beautiful,\u201d Acu\u00f1a said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always believed in God, I always went to church, praying everyday asking him for work, and that he take care of me day by day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGod exists,\u201d Acu\u00f1a continued. \u201cI want to give everyone this message, that God exists and that he has given me a new opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=Q3mSGvZpQi8:M9WDDXEUgdw:yIl2AUoC8zA\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/Q3mSGvZpQi8\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Pope_Francis_at_the_General_Audience_in_St_Peters_Square_Sept_21_2016_Credit_Daniel_Ibanez_1_CNA.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2017 \/ 01:53 pm (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" target=\"_self\">CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Maximiliano Acu&ntilde;a is a garbage collector in Buenos Aires who earlier this year was injured in a serious accident that left him without legs.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, he was surprised to receive an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis.<\/p>\n<p>The Pope offered words of encouragement, 33-year-old Acu&ntilde;a told the Argentine Morfi Television program.<\/p>\n<p>On March 22, the father of five children had been collecting garbage in a Buenos Aires neighborhood when he was struck by a car going some 80 miles an hour.<\/p>\n<p>As a result of the accident, both of his legs had to be amputated.<\/p>\n<p>A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, decided to tell Pope Francis what happened in an e-mail, in which he explained that the &ldquo;doctors&#8217; prognosis was for the worst.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him,&rdquo; Vera told the Holy Father.<\/p>\n<p>However, Acu&ntilde;a surprised doctors when he came out of the coma on the third day. Two days later, he was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room. &ldquo;In a few weeks he was already home with his five children,&rdquo; Vera related in his message to the Pope.<\/p>\n<p>This July 18, Acu&ntilde;a was getting ready to be honored at a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Legislature when he got a special call.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&#8217;m Pope Francis. A friend (Vera) sent me a letter, and I was moved and struck by how much strength you have,&rdquo; the voice said on the other end of the line. &ldquo;Always go forward, because you&#8217;re an example.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Acu&ntilde;a recounted these words with emotion at a ceremony in front of hundreds of other garbage collectors.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Vera is working with the general secretary of the Truckers Union, Pablo Moyano, to propose that March 22 be declared &ldquo;Waste Collectors&#8217; Day,&rdquo; in tribute to this young collector.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;God gave me my life back, because they removed both legs, but everything that is happening to me is beautiful,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I always believed in God, I always went to church, praying everyday asking him for work, and that he take care of me day by day.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;God exists,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a continued. &ldquo;I want to give everyone this message, that God exists and that he has given me a new opportunity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=Q3mSGvZpQi8:M9WDDXEUgdw:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/Q3mSGvZpQi8\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-americas"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pope phones trash man who lost legs in accident<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2017 \/ 01:53 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Maximiliano Acu&ntilde;a is a garbage collector in Buenos Aires who earlier this year was injured in a serious accident that left him without legs. On Tuesday, he was surprised to receive an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis. The Pope offered words of encouragement, 33-year-old Acu&ntilde;a told the Argentine Morfi Television program. On March 22, the father of five children had been collecting garbage in a Buenos Aires neighborhood when he was struck by a car going some 80 miles an hour. As a result of the accident, both of his legs had to be amputated. A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, decided to tell Pope Francis what happened in an e-mail, in which he explained that the &ldquo;doctors&#039; prognosis was for the worst.&rdquo; &ldquo;In the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him,&rdquo; Vera told the Holy Father. However, Acu&ntilde;a surprised doctors when he came out of the coma on the third day. Two days later, he was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room. &ldquo;In a few weeks he was already home with his five children,&rdquo; Vera related in his message to the Pope. This July 18, Acu&ntilde;a was getting ready to be honored at a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Legislature when he got a special call. &ldquo;I&#039;m Pope Francis. A friend (Vera) sent me a letter, and I was moved and struck by how much strength you have,&rdquo; the voice said on the other end of the line. &ldquo;Always go forward, because you&#039;re an example.&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a recounted these words with emotion at a ceremony in front of hundreds of other garbage collectors. Now, Vera is working with the general secretary of the Truckers Union, Pablo Moyano, to propose that March 22 be declared &ldquo;Waste Collectors&#039; Day,&rdquo; in tribute to this young collector. &ldquo;God gave me my life back, because they removed both legs, but everything that is happening to me is beautiful,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a said. &ldquo;I always believed in God, I always went to church, praying everyday asking him for work, and that he take care of me day by day.&rdquo; &ldquo;God exists,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a continued. &ldquo;I want to give everyone this message, that God exists and that he has given me a new opportunity.&rdquo; &nbsp;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope phones trash man who lost legs in accident\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2017 \/ 01:53 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Maximiliano Acu&ntilde;a is a garbage collector in Buenos Aires who earlier this year was injured in a serious accident that left him without legs. On Tuesday, he was surprised to receive an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis. The Pope offered words of encouragement, 33-year-old Acu&ntilde;a told the Argentine Morfi Television program. On March 22, the father of five children had been collecting garbage in a Buenos Aires neighborhood when he was struck by a car going some 80 miles an hour. As a result of the accident, both of his legs had to be amputated. A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, decided to tell Pope Francis what happened in an e-mail, in which he explained that the &ldquo;doctors&#039; prognosis was for the worst.&rdquo; &ldquo;In the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him,&rdquo; Vera told the Holy Father. However, Acu&ntilde;a surprised doctors when he came out of the coma on the third day. Two days later, he was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room. &ldquo;In a few weeks he was already home with his five children,&rdquo; Vera related in his message to the Pope. This July 18, Acu&ntilde;a was getting ready to be honored at a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Legislature when he got a special call. &ldquo;I&#039;m Pope Francis. A friend (Vera) sent me a letter, and I was moved and struck by how much strength you have,&rdquo; the voice said on the other end of the line. &ldquo;Always go forward, because you&#039;re an example.&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a recounted these words with emotion at a ceremony in front of hundreds of other garbage collectors. Now, Vera is working with the general secretary of the Truckers Union, Pablo Moyano, to propose that March 22 be declared &ldquo;Waste Collectors&#039; Day,&rdquo; in tribute to this young collector. &ldquo;God gave me my life back, because they removed both legs, but everything that is happening to me is beautiful,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a said. &ldquo;I always believed in God, I always went to church, praying everyday asking him for work, and that he take care of me day by day.&rdquo; &ldquo;God exists,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a continued. &ldquo;I want to give everyone this message, that God exists and that he has given me a new opportunity.&rdquo; &nbsp;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-19T19:53:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Pope_Francis_at_the_General_Audience_in_St_Peters_Square_Sept_21_2016_Credit_Daniel_Ibanez_1_CNA.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/\",\"name\":\"Pope phones trash man who lost legs in accident\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-19T19:53:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-07-19T19:53:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2017 \/ 01:53 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Maximiliano Acu&ntilde;a is a garbage collector in Buenos Aires who earlier this year was injured in a serious accident that left him without legs. On Tuesday, he was surprised to receive an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis. The Pope offered words of encouragement, 33-year-old Acu&ntilde;a told the Argentine Morfi Television program. On March 22, the father of five children had been collecting garbage in a Buenos Aires neighborhood when he was struck by a car going some 80 miles an hour. As a result of the accident, both of his legs had to be amputated. A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, decided to tell Pope Francis what happened in an e-mail, in which he explained that the &ldquo;doctors' prognosis was for the worst.&rdquo; &ldquo;In the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him,&rdquo; Vera told the Holy Father. However, Acu&ntilde;a surprised doctors when he came out of the coma on the third day. Two days later, he was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room. &ldquo;In a few weeks he was already home with his five children,&rdquo; Vera related in his message to the Pope. This July 18, Acu&ntilde;a was getting ready to be honored at a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Legislature when he got a special call. &ldquo;I'm Pope Francis. A friend (Vera) sent me a letter, and I was moved and struck by how much strength you have,&rdquo; the voice said on the other end of the line. &ldquo;Always go forward, because you're an example.&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a recounted these words with emotion at a ceremony in front of hundreds of other garbage collectors. Now, Vera is working with the general secretary of the Truckers Union, Pablo Moyano, to propose that March 22 be declared &ldquo;Waste Collectors' Day,&rdquo; in tribute to this young collector. &ldquo;God gave me my life back, because they removed both legs, but everything that is happening to me is beautiful,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a said. &ldquo;I always believed in God, I always went to church, praying everyday asking him for work, and that he take care of me day by day.&rdquo; &ldquo;God exists,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a continued. &ldquo;I want to give everyone this message, that God exists and that he has given me a new opportunity.&rdquo; &nbsp;\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pope phones trash man who lost legs in accident\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pope phones trash man who lost legs in accident","description":"Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2017 \/ 01:53 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Maximiliano Acu&ntilde;a is a garbage collector in Buenos Aires who earlier this year was injured in a serious accident that left him without legs. On Tuesday, he was surprised to receive an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis. The Pope offered words of encouragement, 33-year-old Acu&ntilde;a told the Argentine Morfi Television program. On March 22, the father of five children had been collecting garbage in a Buenos Aires neighborhood when he was struck by a car going some 80 miles an hour. As a result of the accident, both of his legs had to be amputated. A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, decided to tell Pope Francis what happened in an e-mail, in which he explained that the &ldquo;doctors' prognosis was for the worst.&rdquo; &ldquo;In the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him,&rdquo; Vera told the Holy Father. However, Acu&ntilde;a surprised doctors when he came out of the coma on the third day. Two days later, he was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room. &ldquo;In a few weeks he was already home with his five children,&rdquo; Vera related in his message to the Pope. This July 18, Acu&ntilde;a was getting ready to be honored at a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Legislature when he got a special call. &ldquo;I'm Pope Francis. A friend (Vera) sent me a letter, and I was moved and struck by how much strength you have,&rdquo; the voice said on the other end of the line. &ldquo;Always go forward, because you're an example.&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a recounted these words with emotion at a ceremony in front of hundreds of other garbage collectors. Now, Vera is working with the general secretary of the Truckers Union, Pablo Moyano, to propose that March 22 be declared &ldquo;Waste Collectors' Day,&rdquo; in tribute to this young collector. &ldquo;God gave me my life back, because they removed both legs, but everything that is happening to me is beautiful,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a said. &ldquo;I always believed in God, I always went to church, praying everyday asking him for work, and that he take care of me day by day.&rdquo; &ldquo;God exists,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a continued. &ldquo;I want to give everyone this message, that God exists and that he has given me a new opportunity.&rdquo; &nbsp;","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pope phones trash man who lost legs in accident","og_description":"Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2017 \/ 01:53 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Maximiliano Acu&ntilde;a is a garbage collector in Buenos Aires who earlier this year was injured in a serious accident that left him without legs. On Tuesday, he was surprised to receive an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis. The Pope offered words of encouragement, 33-year-old Acu&ntilde;a told the Argentine Morfi Television program. On March 22, the father of five children had been collecting garbage in a Buenos Aires neighborhood when he was struck by a car going some 80 miles an hour. As a result of the accident, both of his legs had to be amputated. A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, decided to tell Pope Francis what happened in an e-mail, in which he explained that the &ldquo;doctors' prognosis was for the worst.&rdquo; &ldquo;In the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him,&rdquo; Vera told the Holy Father. However, Acu&ntilde;a surprised doctors when he came out of the coma on the third day. Two days later, he was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room. &ldquo;In a few weeks he was already home with his five children,&rdquo; Vera related in his message to the Pope. This July 18, Acu&ntilde;a was getting ready to be honored at a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Legislature when he got a special call. &ldquo;I'm Pope Francis. A friend (Vera) sent me a letter, and I was moved and struck by how much strength you have,&rdquo; the voice said on the other end of the line. &ldquo;Always go forward, because you're an example.&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a recounted these words with emotion at a ceremony in front of hundreds of other garbage collectors. Now, Vera is working with the general secretary of the Truckers Union, Pablo Moyano, to propose that March 22 be declared &ldquo;Waste Collectors' Day,&rdquo; in tribute to this young collector. &ldquo;God gave me my life back, because they removed both legs, but everything that is happening to me is beautiful,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a said. &ldquo;I always believed in God, I always went to church, praying everyday asking him for work, and that he take care of me day by day.&rdquo; &ldquo;God exists,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a continued. &ldquo;I want to give everyone this message, that God exists and that he has given me a new opportunity.&rdquo; &nbsp;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2017-07-19T19:53:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Pope_Francis_at_the_General_Audience_in_St_Peters_Square_Sept_21_2016_Credit_Daniel_Ibanez_1_CNA.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/","name":"Pope phones trash man who lost legs in accident","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-07-19T19:53:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-07-19T19:53:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2017 \/ 01:53 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Maximiliano Acu&ntilde;a is a garbage collector in Buenos Aires who earlier this year was injured in a serious accident that left him without legs. On Tuesday, he was surprised to receive an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis. The Pope offered words of encouragement, 33-year-old Acu&ntilde;a told the Argentine Morfi Television program. On March 22, the father of five children had been collecting garbage in a Buenos Aires neighborhood when he was struck by a car going some 80 miles an hour. As a result of the accident, both of his legs had to be amputated. A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, decided to tell Pope Francis what happened in an e-mail, in which he explained that the &ldquo;doctors' prognosis was for the worst.&rdquo; &ldquo;In the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him,&rdquo; Vera told the Holy Father. However, Acu&ntilde;a surprised doctors when he came out of the coma on the third day. Two days later, he was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room. &ldquo;In a few weeks he was already home with his five children,&rdquo; Vera related in his message to the Pope. This July 18, Acu&ntilde;a was getting ready to be honored at a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Legislature when he got a special call. &ldquo;I'm Pope Francis. A friend (Vera) sent me a letter, and I was moved and struck by how much strength you have,&rdquo; the voice said on the other end of the line. &ldquo;Always go forward, because you're an example.&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a recounted these words with emotion at a ceremony in front of hundreds of other garbage collectors. Now, Vera is working with the general secretary of the Truckers Union, Pablo Moyano, to propose that March 22 be declared &ldquo;Waste Collectors' Day,&rdquo; in tribute to this young collector. &ldquo;God gave me my life back, because they removed both legs, but everything that is happening to me is beautiful,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a said. &ldquo;I always believed in God, I always went to church, praying everyday asking him for work, and that he take care of me day by day.&rdquo; &ldquo;God exists,&rdquo; Acu&ntilde;a continued. &ldquo;I want to give everyone this message, that God exists and that he has given me a new opportunity.&rdquo; &nbsp;","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/07\/pope-phones-trash-man-who-lost-legs-in-accident\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pope phones trash man who lost legs in accident"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}