Monte Alto mother overwhelmed with botched repairs, painful tumors

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The United Way of South Texas is collecting contributions for the family, which will receive 100% of all donations. You can help them by calling the United Way of South Texas at (956) 686-6331 and ask about the Spirit of Christmas campaign.

MONTE ALTO — Flavia Garza, the head of the household and sole provider for three children and her 66-year-old mother, has done everything possible to give them a better life, but it seems with every step forward, there’s always another obstacle to overcome.

Moving to Monte Alto in 2014, Flavia bought a one-bedroom trailer and then purchased a three-bedroom trailer to better accommodate her family, which consists of Sean, 11, Donika, 12, Francheska, 15, and Maria, 66.

But numerous problems in the trailer homes have left her financially and emotionally exhausted, especially wiring that she fears could start a fire.

“It’s hard,” Flavia said, taking a moment to fight back tears. “I know everybody has a hard time especially because everything’s so expensive, but if we can get a little bit of help ….

“I’m working. It’s not that I’m not working because I know people are going to say, ‘Oh, you want a handout?’ But it’s not that, it’s just very hard right now.”

Flavia has hired numerous people to come fix her electrical problems, paying for all the materials herself. But there were problems with the job, including it was left incomplete. This left her with more problems.

“When I turn on let’s say the washer, the lights go out,” she said. “So, it’s not set up right … and that’s the problem we had before. We can’t have multiple things connected. One of the connections even burned out. My mom was walking out and saw it on fire so we got to stop it, but if she wouldn’t have seen it, it would have burned down.”

The family’s three-bedroom trailer also has tornado damage from a few years ago. Replacing the walls around the front and back door, the floor and roof, the trailer still has a way to go.

“When it gets real cold, we all sleep in the living room,” Flavia said. “I have a little heater, so we turn it on, and that’s what we sleep in.”

The refrigerator inside the home isn’t at 100% either. It does not keep food cold most of the time and Garza relies on an outdoor freezer for items that need to be keep frozen.

Outside the trailer home is a little shack with a washer but it gave out two weeks ago; the family now washes by hand.

On top of the family’s housing problems, Flavia is struggling with tumors in her stomach, Sean has ADHD and Francheska has a genetic chromosome disorder.

“The tumors are fibroids and they have cysts on them,” the mother said. “They’re pretty big and they hurt a lot of the time.”

Flavia said she can’t afford to have them removed.

“I still have to stay at work when it does hurt a lot,” she said. “I can’t lift heavy stuff for a long time … it’s very sensitive and it happens almost four times out of the week.”

The family depends on one car to get around and Flavia drives about 45 minutes to work. She said what she makes is not enough for the family.

After paying monthly bills, mortgage and daily expenses, the little she has left goes toward paying to repair various things around the mobile home.

With one mode of transportation, her children have had to quit extracurricular activities because no one can pick them up after school.

“They tell me they’re happy and that it’s OK, they always say that but I know they’re not,” Flavia said, looking away to hide the tears streaming down her face. “I mean, I try. And I’m very happy that they’re not like that, like they don’t pressure me either, and I don’t pressure them, but I know that they’re missing out. But, I mean, there’s nothing I can do … I feel bad for them because they’re little and they shouldn’t be going through none of this.”

Flavia said any help given to the family will go a long way in providing a safer environment for them.

The top priority for the families housing situation is assistance with their electric issues, replacing parts of the wall and floor and a fully functioning fridge, washer and dryer. The family could also use winter clothes, shoes and heavy blankets for the upcoming winter months.

Christmas is looking bleak for the family but Flavia is saving all she can to provide her children with at least one present this year.

Donika and Francheska having an artistic touch would appreciate art supplies like paint, color pencils, sketch books and canvases. Sean, having a more sporty type of personality, would appreciate a basketball and football.