NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - An Army veteran was welcomed to his new home in New Braunfels Friday courtesy of Homes For Our Troops and H-E-B.
- Ricardo PerezRamos lost both legs in Afghanistan
- PerezRamos received his New Braunfels home Friday
- The home is specialy equipped to accomodate PerezRamos's needs
Army Sergeant Ricardo PerezRamos was severely injured after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan. He lost both his legs and has endured 112 surgeries. He’s being honored for his service with a mortgage-free home that's specially adapted to meet his needs. The new house features more than 40 adaptations like widened doorways for his wheelchair, and lowered countertops and cabinets.
"My other house, I destroyed the doors, door frames, cabinets, walls. I'm really good with walls and make really good holes everywhere," PerezRamos said.
However, on a day of excitement on which he was hailed a hero, PerezRamos said he can't stop thinking about those who gave their lives.
"I left the battlefield on a stretcher, not the way I was supposed to go. So for me, the word "hero" is not me. It's them because they give everything. I have the opportunity to see my family again; they don't," PerezRamos said.
The Homes For Our Troops nonprofit builds and donates these custom homes nationwide to post-9/11 veterans that have had life-altering injuries. President Tom Landwermeyer said its PerezRamos' character that shows how deserving he is.
"Our country owes this to those veterans and their family. We just happen to be lucky enough to be the vehicle through which the American public can donate and volunteer and work with to put these homes on the ground so these guys can get on with their families and rebuild their lives," Landwermeyer said.
H-E-B partners with Homes For Our Troops by stocking the interior with new furniture, appliances, and groceries.
"We know the impact that a mortgage-free home can have on a family and the burden that it lifts from that family. It allows that veteran to move forward to the next phase of their lives," Winell Herron with H-E-B Public Affairs said.
PerezRamos can now focus on his family's future.
"It's like a peace of mind. It's not that it's hard to pay the mortgage because it actually helps cause I can deviate that money towards my kids' education. That's all I think about," PerezRamos said.
