Little girl whose grandfather walks to work and losing house, writes letter for help

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (WJBK) - Day in and day out, she watches her grandfather suffer. At only 10 years, old she decided to take action.

She wrote a letter to the FOX 2 Problem Solvers in hopes that someone can help the family get back on their feet -- by getting her grandpa off his feet.

A little girl saw her grandfather's feet after he walked miles to and from work recently. And that, the family just learned, cannot compare to what they'll soon be up against.

"Hi my name is Samara Boyles and I am 10 years old," the letter reads. "I am writing you to ask you to please help my grandpa."

Her wish list isn't long.

"All I want for Christmas is for him to get a car so his feet won't have to hurt."

And she's hoping it's not a tall order.

"He has had bad luck since grandma died of cancer."

Bob Keller, Samara's grandfather, walks six and a half miles to TVM trucking in Taylor every day.

"I leave about four o'clock because I have to be at work by six," he said.

Keller says he went into bankruptcy after his wife died, and lost his car coming out of it. His two feet now making up for four wheels.

"These are the second pair of shoes," he said.

FOX 2: "Second pair in how long?"

"Oh, shoes don't last me too long, a couple months," he said.

Samara had no clue the toll it took, until she went into her grandfather's room one day.

"I saw his feet bleed and I felt really bad for him," Samara said. "Nobody should have to walk in snow and what if he's cold."

"Up until it got cold it wasn't bad," Keller said. "Sure I don't want to walk but I had to, I didn't have a choice."

Keller is working to take care of his kids and grandchildren that live with him. It's a burden made heavier, given his circumstances.

"They can't sell you a car unless you have a couple thousand down to put on a car, which I don't have," Keller said. "They all want two or three thousand dollars down to buy a car and I don't have that. I'm just barely making it here."

And here won't be theirs for long. Keller says he's losing the house to back taxes and to his late wife's Medicaid debt.

He says they learned this past weekend they have to leave in February, making Samara's letter even more timely.

FOX 2: "What ran through your mind when you found out what your granddaughter did?"

"This is not something I'm used to," Keller said. "I don't ask for stuff. I just do what I got to do, you know? That's just the way it is."

Bob Keller drives a truck for work but doesn't have a car to get to work. He and his family have not found a new place to live but have just a month to figure it out.

If you would like to help, the family has a GoFundMe page set up. CLICK HERE.