Fear set in Sunday for Mary Christo and Eric Waksmunski of Mahoning Township when they needed to get down their winding driveway to get their oldest child Jesse to the hospital.

Mary found blood trickling from Jesse’s ear and they were stranded in their home nearly a half-mile in the woods on top of a 700-foot hill.A contracted plow truck was unable to push through the nearly 2 feet of snow up their driveway that fell during the blizzard.“Jesse has a real bad double ear infection and his left ear drum ruptured,” Waksmunski said. “That’s what changed everything. We knew he was sick Friday night and we thought ‘Let’s get through Saturday. We will be plowed out Sunday and take him to urgent care.’ ”But then winter storm Jonas moved farther north, dropping feet instead of inches on the area that the plow truck couldn’t handle as it tried to maneuver up the Waksmunskis’ windy driveway.The Waksmunskis were stuck and unable to take their son in their vehicle. No ambulance could make it up the steep, unplowed incline.So Waksmunski did what any parent would do — he bundled Jesse and himself up and began a trek down the snow-covered hill with Jesse on a sled while Mary called for the ambulance as she watched from their home with their other two 5-year-old twin sons, Shane and Wyatt, who are also battling colds.“We were in panic mode because what were we going to do because we can’t stay stranded until everything melts,” Waksmunski said, noting that Jesse started running a fever in addition to his ear bleeding. “He needed help.”Once at the bottom, the father and son were met by ambulance crews who took them to Lehigh Valley Hospital, where they stayed until this morning so Jesse could be treated for a ruptured ear drum and the double ear infection.Waksmunski said Jesse is now on antibiotics and must stay home from school for a few days, but things could have been a lot worse.The problem the pair faced this morning though was getting home.Mary, still stuck in the family’s home, was unable to come and get her husband and son, and Eric was stuck in the hospital with no vehicle.He posted a plea on Facebook and said that numerous people offered to help and he was eternally grateful for that.“It was neat to see how people came together,” he said.But not wanting to put anyone out, he called Uber and a driver in the area was able to get them home.Once home, Waksmunski said it was through friends that the family now has a clear driveway.Through a few phone calls, Shawn Quigley of SQ Construction in Lehighton, learned of the family’s problem and brought over his plow.By 8:30 a.m. the driveway was cleared and the family was thankful to again have access to the rest of civilization.Waksmunski said that this situation has changed his views of winter because Shane and Wyatt, who have Down syndrome, have had to be rushed to the hospital numerous times during their lives.“Being stranded is not an option with my kids,” he said. “This changes how we will plan for winter now.”