Spencer Solves It: Former first responder gets roof help after tragic accident

HOUSTON – At 58 years old, Randy Riggs, of Spring, struggles to make it out to his mailbox, where he anticipates finding another stack of bills that he and his disabled mother will surely have trouble paying.

Riggs is a former emergency medical technician who spent close to 15 years as a first responder.

He's a man who spent all that time saving other people’s lives.

“We would respond to virtually every type of 911 call, from shootings to stabbings, car accidents to attempted suicides," Riggs said. 'There are so many I remember and so many I wish I could forget forever."

“Whatever Randy could ever do to help anybody, no matter the trauma, he would do it. That’s just him,” Riggs’ mother, Sharon Riggs, said.

But then, Randy Riggs was involved in a life-changing accident of his own.

He was riding in a golf cart that plunged 17 feet off of a bridge.

The golf cart landed on top of him and nearly killed him.

“My entire chest was crushed, every bone in my chest, my ribs, all of them, fractured. My sternum was crushed, and I broke my back in eight places," Riggs said.

Riggs recovered but was never able to work again.

His biggest problem, the problem that he and his mother have been struggling with for more than 10 years, is a rotten roof with holes in it that allows the rain to pour right into the house, the same way water pours out of your shower.

For 10 years, Riggs and his mother have suffered through it, but recently Riggs decided to write Spencer Solves It for help.

“I just didn’t have any other place to go. I could not let my mother live like this anymore," Riggs said.

Right away, we at Spencer Solves It brought in the roofing, windows and construction specialists at Rebuild Texas.

Then, the crew went about replacing every single inch of the rotten, old, leaking roof with brand-new, high-quality shingles.

The job was a big one, costing more than $10,000, but the generous, hard-working people at Rebuild Texas did the entire job for free.

They know Riggs deserves the help.

“He has given so much of his life helping other people as a first responder. Of course we want to help him,” Josh Rosheisen, of Rebuild Texas, said.

As for Riggs, he knows within a few weeks, the problem he has struggled with for more than a decade will finally be over.

“God bless you, Bill (Spencer). You have no idea what a relief this is for me and my mother," Riggs said.


About the Author:

Emmy-winning investigative reporter, insanely competitive tennis player, skier, weightlifter, crazy rock & roll drummer (John Bonham is my hero). Husband to Veronica and loving cat father to Bella and Meemo.