Texas couple flies family they saw in ABC News report on Puerto Rico to New York

The couple saw the story in an ABC News report and desperately wanted to help.

ByABC News
November 9, 2017, 8:25 PM

— -- A woman who was in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, taking care of her ailing parents as well as others, is back in New York and getting her family the help they need, thanks to one Texas couple.

When Lisbeth Vasquez Delgado and her parents, Elmer and Gloria, got off the plane Saturday at New Jersey's Newark International Airport, they were greeted by Angel Gomez and his wife, Patsy, who'd paid for the trio to fly to New York.

"This is like a dream," Vasquez said, after she'd disembarked. "I still can't believe it. I'm here and I still can't believe it."

Angel Gomez said he and his wife had watched an ABC News report in October in which Vasquez and her parents appeared.

He said it broke his heart to see how her parents were living in Puerto Rico, eating cereal and water.

"I told my wife there's something that we gotta do to help this family," he told ABC News. "And the very next day, we started working on it."

The couple traveled from their El Paso home to meet the family at the airport, with hugs and well-wishes to spare.

"We don't have to know them," Patsy Gomez told ABC News. "They're our brothers and sisters and we want to help them."

PHOTO: Lisbeth Vasquez packs her luggage in Puerto Rico. She told ABC News that her parents' apartment building has just gotten power back after more than 40 days but still had "dirty water."
Lisbeth Vasquez packs her luggage in Puerto Rico. She told ABC News that her parents' apartment building has just gotten power back after more than 40 days but still had "dirty water."

In October, when David Muir and his team were in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, they met Vasquez, a New York City resident who'd returned to the island to tend to her parents.

At the time of Muir's visit, Vasquez said no food or water had been brought to the apartment building. Windows and doors had been broken and shattered in the hurricane. Vasquez was sharing her food and water with other residents in the building, and her parents were lying in their bedroom, in need of medication.

Just today, nearly two months after Maria hit, authorities in Puerto Rico confirmed that more than 80 percent of the island was again back in the dark after a major power failure.

With little food, water or power, Puerto Rico residents say 'no one has come' to help

PHOTO: David Muir speaks to Lizbeth Vasquez Delgado from New York City who came to Puerto Rico to take care of her parents after Hurricane Maria came ashore the island.
David Muir speaks to Lizbeth Vasquez Delgado from New York City who came to Puerto Rico to take care of her parents after Hurricane Maria came ashore the island.

Angel and Patsy Gomez, who help families in need in El Paso, Texas, said they reached out to ABC News to get Vasquez's contact information.

For two weeks, they spoke to Vasquez over the phone as the trio made arrangements to get her and her parents to New York. Angel Gomez said that he and his wife had cried after everything had been finalized.

"It's easy to see a story but it's better when you see their face, when you can hug them and give them hope," Patsy Gomez said. "That's what it's all about. It's about reaching out to human beings. You don't have to know them. They don't have to be your family members. It can just be somebody that's hurting and what we do, is help them endure during difficult times."

Before she left Puerto Rico, Vasquez said she was nervous about leaving the island but knew that the move was for the better. She said that Friday, the day before she flew to New York, had been the first time they'd had power in more than 40 days.

At the time they left, she said, the running water was still dirty.

"I'm not going to have to struggle like I have here," she told ABC News. "I can take my parents to the hospital ... I've been trying to stay strong. I am going to make sure I can come back and help others."

PHOTO: Lizbeth Vasquez Delgado, visiting Puerto Rico from New York City to care for her parents, said inspectors had not yet been to her parents' apartment building. She said no water or food had been brought to residents.
Lizbeth Vasquez Delgado, visiting Puerto Rico from New York City to care for her parents, said inspectors had not yet been to her parents' apartment building. She said no water or food had been brought to residents.

Related Topics