JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A veteran injured while serving overseas was honored alongside his family Saturday at a ceremony where he was given a mortgage-free home by the nonprofit organization Building Homes for Heroes.
Army specialist Alberto Diaz, his wife Kayla and their two kids were not just given the mortgage-free home but were surprised to see it was fully furnished as well.
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“(I’m) Shocked that that many people showed up,” wife of Army Specialist Alberto Diaz, Kayla Diaz, said. “Amazed. Just amazing. That's the word that sums all this up.”
On Aug. 2, 2014, while deployed in Afghanistan, Diaz was riding in a truck that rolled over an Improvised Explosive Device, triggering an explosion. The IED blast caused severe injuries, including bleeding in Diaz's brain and nerve damage to his entire face.
The Diaz family said they are ecstatic to be given their new home and create some stability for their family.
“It's just the stability, you know? And, it's just… you don't want your family to be effected by the changes,” Alberto Diaz said. “My daughter shouldn't be moving and getting a new room every six months, but instead (should) be making friends.”
“I'm excited (that) we are going to be stable -- that I have a kitchen that's really, really nice,” Kayla Diaz said. “We're just excited.”
Another military family at the ceremony was also surprised with a home that they will receive from Building Homes for Heroes.
Click here if you want to help Building Homes for Heroes.