OKLA. CITY - Mariano Badillo spent his lifetime beating the odds.
He was born with a birth defect and in 1995 survived the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.
The blast was so powerful it blew Mariano right out of bed.
He was asleep in his bedroom just blocks away from where the truck bomb went off.
Life hasn’t been the same for him since.
More than 20 years later Mariano still suffers from hearing loss and other injuries, like a preexisting skeletal disorder and bad knees.
“I've used a cane for 10 years,” he said. “Basically these last, since 2012, it's been back to back to back surgeries. Now again I have to have another surgery.”
It's dangerous for him to even try to get out of his front door.
The loaner ramp he has now is rusting out and too steep.
We can't help him feel better, but we can make his life a little bit easier with a new ramp from the AMBUCS Oklahoma City Chapter.
David Feisal says he and the other civic service club members plan to pony up all of the materials and labor to build Mariano a wood ramp that will help give him more mobility and independence.
That's a gift Mariano doesn't take for granted.
He comes from a family of survivors.
Last year a 4-alarm blaze ripped through his mom's Native American art and jewelry store in Stockyard City.
Before the bombing Mariano was a stone sculptor.
He dreams of one day owning his own studio and creating a place he can carve out his new beginning.
Here's more info. on AMBUCS OKC and its ramp program.