One for the, "Be thankful for what you have" file.

Story here. I just noticed that this may require registration, so I'll copy it below.

Where to start. I can only imagine what Kent's families are going through. I've only known him since 1997, but it was a fast friendship. He was the best man at my wedding. We hadn't seen each other in a few years since we all moved away from Paris, but we still kept in touch via Email and the phone. I am still hoping to someday re-move to the DFW area and pick up where we left off.

Kent, we're praying for you to recover, God-willing, and return to your friends and family as the vibrant, wonderful person that you are.

Amanda and all of the people who Kent affected in his life, we are praying that you have the strength to get through this trial no matter what the outcome.

STORY:

3 sought in attack of man on I-35W

By Deanna Boyd

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH - Steven "Kent" Schnable planned to spend Thanksgiving afternoon at his mother-in-law's house, celebrating the holiday with his wife and loved ones.

Instead, his family and friends kept vigil at John Peter Smith Hospital, praying that the 38-year-old Fort Worth man lives.

Schnable suffered a skull fracture and a serious brain injury early Thursday in a road-rage attack that police believe may have been a case of mistaken identity.

Relatives have been told that he has less than a 50 percent chance of surviving. If he does live, he would probably do so in a vegetative state.

"We're all just praying and hoping that he'll get out of this with as little repercussions as possible," said his wife, Amanda. "It's unfathomable that this would happen to him. He, of all people, did not deserve this."

Police say Schnable was forced off the road about 2:35 a.m. Thursday and assaulted by the driver of a blue pickup, who then fled the scene with two passengers.

"While we are still looking for the reason for this assault, we believe it could be misidentification of a truck that cut them off," said Cheryl Johnson, a Fort Worth homicide detective.

Boys' night out

Schnable, a project manager at Sabre, had spent a "boys' night out" with friends at the Cowboys dance hall on Texas 360 in Arlington. When the bar closed, Schnable and his friend Phillip Howell headed home.

They planned to get something to eat before returning to Schnable's home in east Fort Worth. They never made it.

Somewhere along the way, the driver of a blue pickup drove up behind Schnable's white Ford F150 and began flashing his bright lights.

"He never had a chance to get over," Howell said. "By the time he could, that truck had swerved over in the middle lane."

Howell, who is from Rockwall, said he is unsure where they were when that encounter occurred. He said he is unfamiliar with the Fort Worth area and had been drinking.

Johnson believes that the incident may have begun on westbound Interstate 30.

Howell said that, after the blue pickup passed Schnable's pickup, the driver cut back in front of Schnable. The truck then passed five or six cars on the road's shoulder, spraying gravel in its wake.

"We were just watching him, and a white pickup came over and cut him off," Howell said. "I didn't think anything else about it."

Later, on southbound Interstate 35W, the two pickups crossed paths again. Howell said Schnable was exiting onto Rosedale Street when the driver of the blue pickup cut in front of him.

"He came off it at an odd angle and slammed on his brakes," Howell said.

Schnable was forced to screech to a halt.

Three men got out of the pickup. The two passengers, one with a belt wrapped around his hand, approached Howell while the driver confronted Schnable.

Howell told police that all three were Hispanic men who appeared to be in their 20s.

The passengers did not strike Howell, but police believe that the driver assaulted Schnable.

A woman who lived nearby told police that she looked outside and saw one of the men, presumably Schnable, get hit in the face and fall to the ground, according to a police report.

Johnson said police do not know whether Schnable was hit with something or whether he hit his head on the ground.

"If the other two ... were not involved in his assault, they need to contact me immediately to avoid prosecution," Johnson said.

Howell said he believed that his friend had just been beaten up, not critically injured.

"I went over and put him on his side and was trying to wake him up," said Howell, who flagged down a passing MedStar ambulance. "He was snoring, and I just assumed he got hit and knocked out."

On Thursday morning, Howell sat in shock in his friend's living room as Olga McMurry, Schnable's mother-in-law, updated him on the prognosis.

"The Kent that we know and love is not with us anymore," McMurry said.

Howell sat stunned.

"Not in a million years would I have thought anything like this could have happened," he said.

An uncertain future

Amanda Schnable grew up next door to her future husband but had little contact with him. He was eight years older, and that seemed like a huge age difference at the time.

"They were only there for a couple of years before they moved away, but our families kept in touch," Amanda Schnable said. "I heard about his family over the years, but I didn't see him again from age 6 until I was 19."

Amanda was a student at Texas A&M University when she canceled a date and met her parents in Grapevine to watch Schnable's sister sing at the Grapevine Opry.

There, she and Kent Schnable got reacquainted.

"I told his mom that night I was going to marry him," Amanda Schnable said.

They dated for four years. Six-and-a-half years ago, they married.

Amanda Schnable said her husband enjoys music, working with computers and boating. She struggled to make sense of how, in one morning, the future of such an active, loving man could become so uncertain.

"He was a good man and never hurt anyone," she said. "He went out of his way for everybody, and he did not deserve any of this. He's one of the kindest people I've ever known.

"If they [his attackers] saw all the people at the hospital, they would know this, too."

Police need help

Police are asking for help in finding the three men suspected of being involved in Thursday morning's road-rage attack. The vehicle is described as a blue two-door Chevrolet or GMC pickup that appeared to flare out at the bottom. Anyone who may have seen the truck that morning or who may know the identity of the occupants is asked to call Detective Cheryl Johnson at (817) 392-4338 or Crime Stoppers at (817) 469-TIPS.