Police Officer Kareem Abdelaziz (left) FDNY Lieutenant Abdelrahman Abdelaziz (center) andSean Desmangles (right).
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Two first responder brothers from the FDNY and NYPD swooped in to help change the lives of a Brooklyn father and his son living with disabilities with a surprise holiday gift.
Police Officer Kareem Abdelaziz, 38, and Fire Lieutenant Abdelrahman Abdelaziz, 43, say they grew up with the firm belief that a community is not just a place to live, but rather a home where everyone requires support and love.
That idea began while the brothers worked inside their father’s East Flatbush deli located at 9010 Avenue B, where they were known as helping hands in the area years before they dedicated their lives to public service.
However, on Dec. 13, the brothers didn’t think twice when they were brought back to their roots after learning a longtime friend, Sean Desmangles, was struggling.
When Kareem left for the police academy, Desmangles stepped in to aid the Abdelaziz’s family deli. For years, he not only worked at the deli, but he also became an extended member of the family.
“We worked together in the store and after I became a police officer he was the individual who replaced me,” Kareem said of Desmangles.
Still, life was not easy for the Desmangles family. His son, Niem Desmangles, was born with a blood disease that left the young man unable to talk or walk. So, when the pair moved into a new apartment six months ago, Sean found himself having to hoist his son on his back and carry him up and down the outer stairs leading to the new home.
With Niem recently turning 18, it became quite a struggle for Sean Desmangles to lift his son up and down the stairs every day.
“No more carrying. Nope, I can’t do it no more — getting too old for that,” Desmangles said.
Desmangles put out a call for help, creating a GoFundMe to garner financial support to have a stairlift installed leading up to the home.
The project was…
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