ANGLETON, Texas – Inside a small Angleton church, Janiece Sullivan and her husband Richard get down on their knees and pray for help as they struggle to get by, facing a mountain of debt.
“We are flat broke, we have no money, we can’t buy the medicines that we both need and I don’t know what to do anymore,” Janiece said while wiping away tears.
Richard is completely blind in one eye and 80 percent blind in the other, and lost his job with a major grocery store chain years ago.
He has been unable to find work stocking fruits and vegetables ever since his blindness.
“Nobody will hire me or give me a chance to work because of the risk of an accident. Because I can’t see very well, I am a liability,” Richard said.
To make matters worse, both of the Sullivans are disabled and spend hundreds of dollars every month on prescription drugs.
Janiece is battling bursitis, arthritis, pancreatitis, irritable bowel syndrome and heart issues.
Richard has high blood pressure and heart issues as well, in addition to blindness.
The Sullivans also have no food in the house. Inside their refrigerator all we could find was a half-eaten package of pancake mix and some chilled water.
“We’ve been eating pancakes for the last six days, because we have nothing else to eat. We don’t have money to buy anything, we are broke," Janiece said.
Facing a tidal wave of trouble, the Sullivans need two things immediately: Obviously, some food to eat, and a complete overhaul of their 16-year-old Ford Explorer, which is undrivable. It is their only means of getting to and from the doctor’s office and the hospital in Angleton.
So we begin by taking the Sullivans' car to Christian Brothers Automotive in Friendswood.
The expert mechanics at Christian Brothers went to work replacing the entire air conditioning system, the brakes, ripped hoses, torn and worn out belts and other parts. The main problem with this car is that the front-end suspension system and steering assembly are shot.
“Every piece of rubber in this suspension system is worn out or gone altogether, so just driving this vehicle down the road, going over a pothole or a speed bump, could cause them to lose complete control and have an accident,” Derek Phillips, owner of Christian Brothers Automotive in Friendswood, said.
The repair took days of hard work, but in the end, the Sullivans now have a safe car to get them to and from the doctor’s office.
They also now have real food to eat, thanks to the pastor at Triumph Church in Angleton.
“Yes we have lots of food in the house now, yeah. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what we would have done Mr. Spencer. At last, no more worries,” Janiece said while giving Spencer a massive bear hug. “We prayed for this and you came through.”
The Spencer Solves It team would like to send our deepest thanks to Christian Brothers Automotive of Friendswood and also to the Triumph Church for all of their help.
If you need help with a problem you can’t possibly solve by yourself, contact Spencer Solves It at 713-223-TIPS (8477) or email us at solvesit@click2houston.com.