"Just put up my big screen TV and hook up my computers and everything," he said.
Five years ago, while serving in Iraq, a sniper's bullet severed Gonzalez's spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.
A wireless multi-functional remote, an elevator and handicap-accessible doors are just a few of the modifications designed to make life just a bit easier for Gonzalez and his mother.
"We have a lift and care system," Gonsalves said. "He can use that to get in and out of his chair, into the bed. It'll help him in the shower, which is a wide open room."
And it's more than just a place to live and more than a place to rest. The new home gives back to Gonzalez something he had as a Marine, but lost when he was injured - his independence.
"He doesn't need other people to cater to him," mother Maria Gonzalez said. "He will be able to open sinks, go through doors, come up and down, be with me if he just wants to hang around with me."
The four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom home took six months to build and would normally cost about a million dollars to own. But for this veteran, it is a mortgage-free token of gratitude for his dedicated service to our country.
"Thank you very much for everything," Gonzalez said.
Actually corporal, thank you.
---
WEB PRODUCED BY: Bill King
QUICK HEADLINES | NEW YORK NEWS | GET NEWSLETTERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC 7 SOCIAL NETWORKING
Find us on Facebook® | Follow us on Twitter
More social networking
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE FROM ABC 7
Contact NJ Bureau | Most popular stories |
Street-level weather
Mobile Alerts |
Report Typos |
See News? Tell Eyewitness news
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
