St. Francisville community helps man get car for Christmas

ST. FRANCISVILLE, La. (WAFB) - For people in rural south Louisiana towns, it can be a challenge getting to crucial medical treatment.

“Well, basically the reason why I must get to Jackson is that I do dialysis. I’ve been doing it several years now and I had a need to get to Jackson to go do my dialysis treatments three days a week,” said Eric Cavalier, who lives in St. Francisville.

Cavalier knows firsthand the struggle of getting to his kidney dialysis, having to hitchhike his way to Jackson for 10 years.

“I will leave my house in the morning about 8:30 in the morning so I have enough time to go to the store to go get some snacks or whatever... Then I would leave the store and I would get a ride from there. Some days from the store, and some days I would be standing by the First Baptist Church. And most people who knew me would see me, they always picked me up and gave me a ride,” Cavalier said.

A woman who gave Cavalier a ride called her son to tell him who she had helped.

“My mom and I were talking on the phone the other day, just catching up and she said, ‘guess who I saw today,’ and I said who, she goes, Eric Cavalier, and I’m like oh how is he, she said well, he was on the side of the road and I’m like what?” Brad Miller said.

Cavalier’s classmate from West Feliciana High School quickly went into problem-solving mode.

“I can’t imagine number one, having a health problem like that, which is already taxing enough, but then turn around having to try to figure out how to get to Jackson once a week would be a lot, but three times a week with no car, I mean I just can’t even wrap my brain around that,” Miller said.

He set up a go fund that gained the attention of a local car dealership.

“In the Facebook post, I ask people, even if you can’t donate, please at least share the post she shared it and she got in touch with Chad Graves, Cecil Graves in St. Francisville and he contacted me and said, hey, I got a car in mind, no donations needed, and I was just like Oh my God. And then when he told me it was a BMW. I was just absolutely floored,” Miller said.

“I am more than blessed, grateful, I’m overwhelmed, it’s unbelievable,” Cavalier said. “I got the Christmas present I wanted.”

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