HOUSTON – Members of the 5th Ward community have banded together to help a man in serious need of medical attention.
Mark Johnson owns a house that he cannot live in because, he says, it's infested with bedbugs, so he's been sleeping in a tent.
In addition, his family said, he was bitten by a spider and now has multiple gashes on his leg.
The community is coming together to help him.
Art Smith met Johnson in 2009, when he hired him to work as a handyman.
On Monday, Johnson went to Smith with a problem.
"He said, 'Well, man, I have this hole in my ankle,' and I said, 'Well, let me see it,'" Smith said.
The graphic images have been blurred, but Johnson has two gaping holes in his leg.
He needed help, so he asked Smith if he could tell his story on Facebook.
Viral Video: 5th Ward plea to help man
"I've been to Ben Taub. I've been to LBJ, St. Joseph's, (but I) ain't got no insurance," Johnson said.
Smith posted on Facebook about Johnson's situation, and the viral post garnered the response they were looking for.
"This brother is now in the hospital because someone at Ben Taub say they saw the story," Smith said.
Johnson's niece, Aisha Johnson, visited him Tuesday.
She said her uncle was in good spirits.
"It just seem like a whole new person from me telling him that there was so many people behind him, supporting him," Aisha said.
"The city going to come together, man, when there's somebody in need. Houston is going to come together and do the right thing, man," Smith said.
Unfortunately, Johnson isn't out of the woods yet.
Although he's at the hospital, his niece said that because he doesn't have insurance, he'll have to find a way to pay for his medical expenses.
Once that's taken care of, Smith says he wants to raise money to fix up his house so he can move back in.
A GofundMe account has been set up to help get Johnson the medical attention he needs.
