(USA) A terminally ill veteran had a special
request as he lay in his hospital bed Saturday.
Roberto Gonzalez told his family there were two
friends in particular that he longed to see one last time - his
beloved horses.
Gonzalez was paralyzed after he was shot two
months into serving in Vietnam, on May 21 1970 and later worked as
a horse trainer
The Texas resident was one of San Antonio VA
Hospital's first patients when it opened in 1974, according to a
Facebook post by South Texas Veterans Health Care
System.
Despite his life-changing injury, Gonzalez worked
for most of his life as a horse trainer in his hometown of Premont,
Texas, and dearly loved the animals he spent time with.
His family were happy to oblige and brought the
animals 150 miles to be by his bedside.
Heartbreaking photos show Gonzalez, who is
bedridden, wheeled outside to greet the pair of horses named Ringo
and Sugar, Saturday.
The horses immediately recognized him and are
seen nuzzling him gently, as he reached out to stroke
them.
A spinal injury patient, Gonzalez has been
hospitalized over the last ten months battling a series of
infections, but this touching moment was one that lifted his
spirits, as well as family's.
His wife Rosario told KPNX: 'Horses are his
life. We've been training and raising horses for over 30, 40
years.'
Wife Rosario Gonzalez
(second from left) said that while the stay has been hard on him
and the family, Saturday's visit is one that she'll never
forget
She added that her husband was one of the only
handicapped or paralyzed licensed horse trainers in
Texas.
But, she said, Gonzalez never let his injuries
slow him down.
She told KSAT: 'He loved horses, he loved cattle,
he loved ranching and farming. He was proud to serve his
country.'
The devoted wife said that even though he is
unable to speak she could see the emotion on her husband's face
when he saw the horses.
The moment the horses came up to him, he opened
his eyes, she said, and were 'kissing him' on the face.
She added that while the stay has been hard on
him and the family, Saturday's visit is one that she'll never
forget.
She said: '[The doctors] are not very optimistic.
But we never give up hope. We have faith, so we put everything in
God's hands.'