FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It was a Christmas miracle for a Fort Myers couple, when a local air conditioning company surprised the pair with a new air conditioner!
The family has been living in often sweltering heat without a working A/C for years now.
A car accident in 1992 left Sarah Dillard paralyzed from the waist down. "Before, I used to try and get around with a chair, and my husband used to have to carry me in certain places. And then we got a wheelchair, and eventually we got the electric chair."
But that doesn't stop her from doing what she loves best: cooking.
But standing over a hot stove can make anybody sweat. And as you know, in Florida temperatures can reach well over ninety degrees. And 5 years ago, her family's air conditioning went out.
But what Sarah didn't know this week was that her Christmas miracle was already in the works. And the miracle maker was coming from Builders Care, a non-profit in Lee County.
"The house she is living in, the air conditioning does not work. She has no heat. They put a couple of window units in the windows to combat the heat. It isn't enough, and were going to go fix it and make it right," said Charles Thornton of Ferguson HVAC.
Ferguson HVAC provided the A/C unit, and Shultz Air did the installation, which should be completed by Thursday.
"The weather's beautiful right now, but in our hot summers can you imagine being in that little house her husband working, and hot and uncomfortable, and not being able to do anything about it," says Julia Schultz.
Not only were they just replacing the air conditioning unit but also all of the duct work in the house.
"I feel so emotional and so touched by the people that's helping me and doing the things they do for people," said Dillard.
The group Builders Care helps provide repairs to homes for people who are unable to do so themselves. They do an estimated 50 events like this a year.
