Garden Oaks residents line street with chairs to help neighbor fighting leukemia

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Neighbors in Garden Oaks are touching the heart of a man who they see day after day walking the streets of their neighborhood. He's fighting leukemia and the disease is making the walks tougher. So they're giving him special chairs so he can take his steps and rest.

Charlie walks his dogs multiple times a day, with his cat, Blue, trailing behind.

"Well, I usually try to walk the dogs every morning, every evening," he said. "And then sometimes in between if it's not too hot."

But recently health problems have made the regular walks a bit of a challenge for Charlie.

"I recently had a little setback with leukemia treatment and it's made it difficult to walk," he said.

And many of his neighbors say they couldn't help but notice the 64-year-old was getting a little overwhelmed.

"I thought I'd put a chair in the yard for him," said neighbor Shellye Arnold. "Then maybe the neighbors would want to put chairs in the yard, so I just sent an email to everyone on the street and asked them if they wanted to put a chair in the yard."

That's why lawns along Azalea and Alba streets are now lined with all sorts of chairs, from Adirondacks to benches, from wrought iron to those that fold.

Neighbors call them 'chairs for Charlie.'

"They put these chairs out for me," said Charlie. "I think it's incredible. I didn't expect this at all."

The chairs are a place for the man to rest when his knees get a little weak along his way.

And Charlie's supportive neighbors know he's too determined to live life than sit around too long.

"I intend to walk, walk to the end," Charlie said.