A Covington girl moved the owner of Benny’s Tree Service so much that he decided to make a huge donation to her.
Benny Williams was moved to tears when he met 5-year-old Arria, Fox 5 reported. Her family, the Ingrams, had called him to get a quote to remove a couple of trees from their backyard in hopes of hanging a tire swing for their children, including 1-year-old Hollis.
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Arria has Cloves syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes a congenital overgrowth of fatty tissue. The condition had led to two amputations and now, it's threatening to shut down her organs. Currently, Arria is undergoing chemotherapy in hopes of slowing down the growth, which two years ago affected her right leg and moved up through her pelvis.
“She’s doing pretty well. She gets tired and rests, but I mean, she just wants to play,” Arria’s mom, Kallie Ingram, told Fox 5.
Williams met Arria when he gave the Ingrams a quote for the trees, and what he witnessed made him teary-eyed.
“When we got ready to leave, I got in the car and she started crawling up the front steps and I saw she didn’t have part of her leg,” he said to the news station. “From that point, until I got to my next job to look at I cried all the way.”
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Deciding he wanted to transform the Ingrams’ backyard into a playground, Williams got in touch with Brian Ingram, Arria’s dad.
“I called Brian and I said, ‘Hey I got a good deal on a small swing set and we want to put it in for y’all,’ but I didn’t tell them how big it was,” Williams said.
Brian Ingram said he was very thankful for how Williams “stepped up in a way we could have never imagined.”
As the playground was built, Williams recalled Arria was “hopping up and down on that one leg” with excitement.
While the playground benefits the family, it’s also been beneficial to Williams, who sees a letter from Arria on his refrigerator each morning.
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“That reminds me to pray for them and their family,” he told the news outlet.
Arria's mother shared the surprise on the Facebook page, Arria's Legacy, resulting in an outpouring of praise for Williams.
“God bless you, Benny Williams!” one person said.
Another posted, “There are still awesome people in this world. Thank you very much for caring for this family.”
Arria's family has established a GoFundMe page to collect donations for her medical treatment.
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