Blind, disabled man gets new wheelchair after Harvey destroys home

Afrean Garcia given new wheelchair Wednesday

ROCKPORT, Texas – It's been two months since Hurricane Harvey came ashore in Rockport and people are still trying to get their lives back on track. 

For one man, losing his home to the storm only added to his difficulties.

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Afrean Garica is blind and for the past eight years he has used rope to help keep his old wheelchair together.

But on Wednesday, Garcia got a surprise that helped change his life.

“I feel so good, that I can’t explain,” he said. “That’s how good it feels."

Garcia was beyond words when he was given a new wheelchair.

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"This old wheelchair is falling apart, this arm keeps falling off and there’s no padding on the seat," he said, recalling what it was like in his old wheelchair.

He has been blind for 12 years and the loss of his home only compounded his problems.

“It demolished all my furniture, everything. I don’t have nothing,” he said.

He spent two months in San Antonio receiving medical help and just got back to Rockport. His first stop was the donation center in town.

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“He asked for a wheelchair and I thought, ‘Oh ding, ding, ding.’ So I went out to the house and got him a wheelchair,” Geanneane Bartholomae said.

The wheelchair belonged to Bartholomae's mother.

“It's wonderful to know that somebody could use the wheelchair and be so grateful for it,” she said.

A feeling of gratitude that showed on Garcia’s face, though he struggled for words, as he tried his new chair for the first time.

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“Man look at this, my other one couldn't do that. It’s (like) my Lord, you know, told me to come this way so I could put me in a different chair,” he said.


About the Authors:

Courtney Friedman anchors KSAT’s weekend evening shows and reports during the week. Her ongoing Loving in Fear series confronts Bexar County’s domestic violence epidemic. She joined KSAT in 2014 and is proud to call the SA and South Texas community home. She came to San Antonio from KYTX CBS 19 in Tyler, where she also anchored & reported.