Green Mountain Falls officer battles cancer
Officer Felix Torres is in the midst of a fight he has to win. He’s battling cancer. I spoke with he and his mom in his Memorial Hospital room as he was about to be discharged and go home. This single Dad of three children, two daughters and one son had a chunk of his intestines recently removed because of the cancer he’s fighting. Torres told me, “I ended up in so much pain that I brought myself to the hospital.”
Officer Torres is in a position that millions of Americans are in right now. He works, but doesn’t work enough to receive health insurance benefits. The Green Mountain Falls police officer had his hours cut from full time at 40 to part time at 30 per week. That means he’s ineligible to receive full time benefits. Officer Torres told me that recent budget cuts in Green Mountain Falls forced the change in position.
He’s a fighter who still dreams of becoming a full time police officer like his father. He’s still worried about the future even as he puts up a brave front. He told me, “It’s scarey. I’m a single Dad. If I wasn’t going to be around for my kids, who would take care of them?”
His mother, Viola Davis who wants me to call her Vi is there by his hospital bedside, opening up his food and helping him see the positives among all the question marks. She told me, “I’m a praying mother and what I do, I leave it in God’s hands. If there is anyone out there that God can speak to to help my son, please do so. We’d be so grateful”
Officer Felix Torres and his family did not email or call me to tell their story. One of his friends emailed with his situation. There is a fund set up to help Felix and his family with their mountain medical bills. It’s at the Pikes Peak Credit Union in Colorado Springs. You can call them at 719-473-5962.
