Injured U.S. army veteran Jonathan Merchant has been gifted a new, mortgage-free home.
The retired army specialist will move into the ADA-modified home in Northlake on Saturday, Fox4News reported.
Using a wheelchair, Merchant struggles to get around his current home, and doing routine tasks like washing dishes and showering is nearly impossible to do alone.
“[Not being able] to roll under the sink is a little challenging,” the 45-year-old veteran said.
Merchant was injured in a car accident while stationed at Fort Hood in December 1999 when he was 19 years old. His girlfriend at the time was driving.
“It was raining. She lost control of the car. We started flying through the air, flipping,” he recalled. “During the rollover, I broke my neck in three places.”
The accident rendered Merchant a quadriplegic.
He questioned, “Is this going to be my life? What kind of life am I going to live?”
Despite this obstacle, Merchant is now a competitive cyclist, works as a life coach, and recently got married.
While attending a veteran appreciation rodeo last October, he was offered a home by the nonprofit Build Homes for Heroes, which has provided mortgagee-free homes to veterans for 16 years.
“They were like, ‘We are presenting you a house!’ I was like, am I dreaming?” Merchant recalled.
On Saturday, he will become the 300th recipient of a home through the non-profit program.
Build Homes for Heroes CEO Andy Pujol said of Merchant, “He’s a beautiful man, a beautiful soul in so many ways. He served this country so long.”
Merchant got to see the home earlier this year while it was in the early stages of construction, along with notes of love written by his community on the wood beams.
“I’m just overwhelmed by the gratitude from people,” he said, “It’s just unbelievable. There are so many good people in this world.”
Merchant gets the keys to the four-bedroom, three-bathroom home this weekend during a reveal party. After they move in, he and his wife plan to start a family.