Rick Barrera spent his morning doing what he does best: mastering the elegant dance of Tai-Chi.
As he maneuvered through the motions, he was in tune with his skill, his discipline and his patience. They're all things that the martial artist and business owner truly needed nine months ago, when it turned out his 6-year-old didn't just have a cold.
"He was getting 104 to 105 fever," Barrera recalled. "Turns out it was not just one strain, but two strains of the flu, and progressed into pneumonia overnight."
Barrera's son spent the week at Methodist Children's hospital battling the flu at the peak of its season.
"It was nerve-racking," he recalled. "While we're in the hospital, we're seeing reports of children dying from the flu from pneumonia—(it's) all that's running through our head. We're trusting our doctors to give him the best care, but man, this was completely avoidable."
But rather than dwell, Barrera acted. After seeing a call for flu preventative supplies, he answered.
"Tissues, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes," he listed off. "I went and bought 18 to 20 boxes and I took it to my kid's school and they were just like, 'Oh my God, we need this, thank you so much.'"
Rather than stop there, Barrera is now gathering donations from the public for other schools in need. It's a way to turn some of the darkest days in his life into a brighter opportunity.
"If this here can help out one kid in San Antonio not to go through that, that's the driving force behind us," he said.
If you're interested, flu supply donations can be made to:
Shaolin West SA
7950 Mainland Dr
San Antonio, TX 78250
Monday through Thursday
5:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Saturday
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.