After being called up from Florida to help treat COVID-19 patients in New York, U.S. Navy Reserve Lt. Rob Guerra had to spend two weeks quarantined in a hotel room before he could go back to see his family. His 40th birthday celebration consisted of eating cupcakes in the hotel parking lot.
But thanks to Ford Motor Co., there was a bigger present waiting at home: a new F-150 for him that was filled with protective equipment for his colleagues at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, where he's a nurse.
Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel honored Guerra on May 30 as part of his ongoing "Health Care Heroes" series. Kimmel surprised Guerra via video call during his post-deployment quarantine.
Ford donated the pickup and boxes of face shields and other equipment it has been making.
The automaker provided a 2020 F-150 STX FX4 SuperCrew — in blue to represent the Navy — to put in Guerra's driveway for Kimmel's show but worked with the family afterward to get them a model matching their needs, a spokesman said.
Guerra said he was given two days' notice when he was called to assist with patient care at a makeshift hospital that briefly operated inside New York's Javits Center.
