After car accident, ‘I was my dad’s hands’
Together with Katy Vojacek, Roxann Ramirez runs Fresh to Death Gentleman’s Grooming Club in Baytown.
“I was an uh-oh baby. My parents were very young, 17. So my grandpa told my dad, ‘You’re not taking my girls until you get an education.’ My mom and I lived with my grandparents for a few years. When my dad finished school and became a welder, they got married and we all moved in together.
“About a year later on a Friday night, my dad finished work and went out with some friends. In the middle of the night, they called us to say that he was in a really bad wreck. We went to Hermann Hospital, where we learned that he had broken his neck. My dad is paralyzed from the chest down.
“With my mom juggling nursing school, work, a 5-year-old and a paralyzed husband, she had her hands full. She ended up quitting school and going to work in a doctor’s office. Before I knew it, it seemed like I was 5 going on 15. I had to grow up quickly. I started cleaning and washing, and helping make sure that my dad was good.
“Eventually, he went back to school to learn how to do tech stuff, like repairing computers. And I was my dad’s hands. He would tell me what to do, and I would do it. I just followed his directions and put the computers together. He also used to have me tear apart his wheelchairs and put them back together. He wanted them clean.
“My dad still has doctor’s appointments. But he’s doing well. We thank God that he’s alive, still kicking and going strong. It just shows that you never know what life may bring. You need to be thankful for every day.”
— Roxann Ramirez
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