ALVARO NOLASCO

Spine-breaking fall disables family wage earner

Alvaro Nolasco, 30, a single parent, does physical therapy while son Jeremy Nolasco, 9, quizzes him on books of the Bible.

By STACI STURROCK
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

It was one of those split-second mistakes, as it so often is.

For many years, Alvaro Nolasco did landscape work — roughly 32 hours a week — to support himself and his son Jeremy, who is 8 years old.

On June 8 in Wellington, he was on yet another job, high up in a coconut palm, when his chain saw accidentally severed his safety belt.

He fell 30 feet to the earth, breaking his spine and injuring several disks. Trauma Hawk carried him to Delray Medical Center, where doctors initially thought he would be paralyzed for life.

After three weeks in the hospital and four months of physical therapy at Delray’s Pinecrest Rehabilitation Center, Alvaro is now able to get around slowly by using a walker or arm braces.

But he has run out of funding for his therapy — and could use more — and is often still in pain. Doctors say it will probably be a year before they have a true sense of how full Alvaro’s recovery will be.

Nolasco reads passages from the bible at his home in Lake Worth.

Meanwhile, he has no income.

The Nolascos share their tiny one-bedroom apartment in Lake Worth with Alvaro’s brother, Elfego, who is helping pay the $500 monthly rent. Alvaro’s sister, Maria, meanwhile, quit her housekeeping job to care for her brother. She’s ready to return to work but has been unable to find a job.

Finding help with the rent, groceries and physical therapy is Alvaro’s most pressing concern, as is an electric wheelchair. “It’s very hard for me to walk,” he says.

A native of Guatemala, Alvaro would also like a few things for Jeremy, an “A” student at Highland Elementary who recently began reading the Harry Potter books and loves science: a computer, clothes, shoes, a Christmas gift or two.

What Alvaro wants most is to see his son thrive.

“My son is so smart,” he says, “I want my son to do something better than me.”

ALVARO’S WISH
The Nolascos could use an electric wheelchair and funding for physical therapy for Alvaro, as well as rent money and Publix gift cards. A computer would help Jeremy with his school work, and a used car would give the Alvaros more freedom. Finally, gift cards to help Alvaro purchase clothes, shoes and Christmas presents for his son would be appreciated.

NOMINATED BY: Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches