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 Local non-profits raise money for wounded soldier and his wife The details of what happened to Sergeant Cesar Mendoza two years ago in Iraq are still a bit hazy. He was tank commander for Fort Carson's 3rd Armored Calvary during his deployment. In Late November, as his unit was packing up to come home, the accident happened. "All I can remember is like a loud kind of noise," says Mendoza. He and other soldiers were loading up heavy equipment when a support cable snapped. The structure Mendoza was standing on fell from beneath his feet. Mendoza estimates that he fell more than 30 feet to the ground.
Three surgeries later and a medical discharge from the Army, life was finally getting somewhat back to normal. Mendoza was at least back at his home in Widefield with his wife Beatriz. He says, "She's wonderful." But on March 17th of this year, things took a turn for the worse. Cesar decided to take his wife for a quick ride on his motorcycle. They were driving around 20 miles per hour, according to Cesar, when they hit some loose gravel. Beatriz fell off.
"She let go and she fell back and hit her neck." The accident left her paralyzed from the neck down. She's been recovering at Denver's Craig Hospital, but is now ready to come home. Home, though, isn't ready for her. Cesar says, "We need a lift because my house has stairs, we need ramps for the outside." They also need to expand their bathroom and doorways to make room for a wheelchair, but Army disability pay barely covers the mortgage.
"If three-thousand people give a dollar that's a lot of money," says Carmen Abeyta, treasurer for a local non-profit organization called, El Cinco de Mayo Incorporated. The organization is working with another non-profit, The Homefront Cares, to raise enough money to pay for the renovations and hopefully a wheelchair accessible van. Craig hospital has also been assisting the family.
Abeyta says, "Cesar has served his country and done his job and now he needs us."
A bank account has been set up to help the family. If you would like to make a donation you're asked to send your contributions to:
Cesar & Beatriz Mendoza Fund
American National Bank
Attn: Joanie Martinez, V.P.
1130 N. Circle Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
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