Couple hopes yard sale will keep them in home

Posted at: 07/17/2009 11:03 PM
By: Tom Joles, Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com

Imagine having to sell everything you own, just to hold on to the place you've been renting.

An Albuquerque couple, still grieving the death of their young son, must come up with $4,000 by the end of the month to get caught up on bills, or they'll be kicked out of their home.

They're selling nearly everything they own to try to come up with the money.

Kenny and Carla Laweka are selling many of the things they once saved up to buy.

"I'll tell you right now, I don't think we're going to come up with what we owe, but I'm sure going to give it a shot," Kenny said Friday.

The couple quit their full-time jobs six years ago to care for their youngest son, Nicky, who was left in a coma after a drunk driver slammed into the family's truck on Mother's Day weekend in 2003.

Nicky died on May 11 of this year, almost six years to the day of the accident.

They were relying on a trust to help them get back on their feet, but they learned the money left in it must now be paid to Medicaid for Nicky's medical expenses.

They now find themselves in a financial bind, four months behind on rent, and may be forced to leave the place they call home, including the garden they planted to feed Nicky a natural diet.

Kenny said, "The sad part is, I still have two months to go before harvest-time, and I might not even be here to harvest my blood, sweat, and tears."

The Lawekas say even if they fail to raise the $4,000 and are left homeless, relatives have already promised to put them up.

Carla said, "At least we're together. Our kids, we're still all together, the other two kids we do have. We're all doing this together."

The family says they raised about half of the $4,000 on Friday. The sale continues Saturday and Sunday at the corner of Marquis and Duchess, right of Juan Tabo.

Randall Zunie, the driver who plowed into their truck, is serving a 10-year sentence.

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