MIDDLEBURG – For only the third night in five months, Mike Chiellino slept in his own bed last weekend. More important, his wife, Melissa, was finally at his side.

The husband has slept at Melissa’s side at the hospital and at Brooks Rehabilitation following their horrific crash on Nov. 5 in front of the Park Central Plaza in Orange Park. The driver who turned into the Chiellino’s path died at the scene. He was in a stolen truck and driving without his lights on when the crash happened on Park Avenue at 11:13 p.m.

Mike was dazed. Melissa essentially broke her back and neck.

“It’s been a long road,” the wife said after finally being released to continue her therapy at home. “The community involvement and our friends kept me motivated. They also kept Mike motivated to keep going. Saying thank you doesn’t seem to be enough.”

But the couple said they are committed to thanking a community that rallied around them. Businesses held fundraisers since Mike wasn’t always able to keep the doors open at Bambino’s Pizza in Middleburg. He said the couple lost nearly $3,000 a week when he stopped making pizzas to be at his wife’s side.

“It was all worth it,” he said. “It was such a horrible crash. It’s a miracle I got Melissa back. I’ve looked forward to finally getting her home. It’s amazing how far she’s come in such a short time.”

The Chiellinos were driving south on Park Avenue when the truck made an abrupt left-hand turn from the northbound lane. Impact sent the truck and the Chiellino’s Chevrolet into a concrete light pole in front of the Clay County Tag Agency.

Mike had just picked his wife up from the airport. She was coming home from New York after visiting with her father.

“I remember my sister driving me to the airport,” Melissa said. “I don’t remember anything after that.”

Melissa suffered breaks to at least three vertebrae.

“I couldn’t move anything from my neck, down,” she said. “They slowly brought me out of it, but the process is really slow. I’m coming along, though. They tell me a full recovery will take more than a year.”

Since the accident, she’s also suffered a stroke and currently is dealing with severe muscle spasms. And yet, she remains positive.

With his wife now home, Mike now is re-focused on reaching out to everyone who made a difference in the past five months.

“The people at Orange Park Medical Center and Brooks, I can’t thank them enough for taking care of my wife,” he said.

But there were others.

Yum a Southern Market and Hagan Ace Hardware, neighboring businesses in Middleburg, held fundraisers. Melissa’s co-workers at Life Care Center of Orange Park picked up many of her shifts.

Hagan Ace Hardware hosted a car and bike show on Feb. 8 to help with “medical equipment, bills and needs.”

“That really helped us out,” Melissa said. “It was more than the money. It was nice to see how people cared. That really motivated both of us. It really helped me concentrate on getting better.”

One of the many ways Mike is paying homage to his community is doing what he does best – making pizzas. He’s given away food and shook a lot of hands in the past five months.

“Thank you seems like such small words for something like this,” Melissa said.

But she wants to say it anyway: “Thank you for coming together during a traffic time in our life.”