Texans move mountains to help Puerto Rican boy with cancer
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Puerto Rico family running out of medicine for their son is now in Texas thanks to a marathon of help from strangers.
Abraham Rodriguez, 4, has been fighting cancer all his life. Doctors found a tumor in his leg when he was just a few months old.
He already endured more than his share of suffering, but then Hurricane Maria hit.
Roger Lewis, who's already put his business aside for months to help with Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Maria relief, felt moved to find a way to help Abraham and his family.
"I can't believe we actually pulled this off. We got this child here and did the impossible," Lewis said.
Roger challenged Dwayne Martinez, better known as Cowboy, to help Abraham and his family.
Martinez, who has also been involved with disaster recovery efforts, took on the challenge.
"It is just we the people helping people," Martinez said.
There's a long list of others who helped Abraham's family make it here. Lewis and Martinez are quick to give credit to the many others along the way.
Abraham's sister, Tatiana Barbosa, was overwhelmed with gratitude to all of them. She's lived in the Houston area for a couple of years. She wasn't able to reach her family in Puerto Rico but knew they needed help.
"They don't have food, water, medications," Barbosa said.
Communication has been extremely difficult since the storm.
"You just start reaching out, and I believe the good Lord lays the bread crumbs," Martinez said.
Finally, Barbosa was able to reach her mother via text message, and the plan was underway to get them on a plane and then to Texas.
"When he walked in that door, my heart just melted," Lewis said.
"All of these people, they're miracle people. They helped my family and I'm really so grateful," Barbosa said.
The rescuers describe themselves as just regular people -- not an organization or aid group. They hope to inspire others to help where they can.
"There is still a lot of good people in this country who believe in the American dream and believe in the American way," Martinez said.
