Man with special needs gets first birthday party at age of 30

WACO, Texas — A Texas man went 30 years of his life without ever having a birthday party.

If you think that's ridiculous, so did his former teacher, and a birthday party was just one of the many gifts she planned for him.

It was a day full of firsts at Lake Waco, as Chris Barrington, a 30-year-old man with special needs, had his first-ever birthday party.

"He deserves a good life. He's had a hard life," his caretaker, Michell Girard told KWTX.

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A little over two months ago, Barrington, who  functions at a 6-year-old level, was found walking down Highway 84 alone by the Gatesville Sheriff's Department. He had been wandering for two days.

Barrington's father was so sick with late-stage leukemia that he couldn't move and Barrington had no known immediate family, but he did remember the name of his junior high teacher, Michell Girard.

Girard taught Barrington for four years at Gatesville Junior High, but hadn't interacted with him in years. However, she was more than willing to take Barrington in.

"I said, 'What happens if I don't take him? Would he get in a group home?' They said, 'No he'd go into an institution.' And I was like 'Not on my watch he's not,'" said Girard.

Girard is now applying for guardianship of Barrington after his father passed away on Aug. 1.

While they wait for that process to be completed, Girard is making sure Barrington has every opportunity to do the things he hadn't been able to do.

"He's never had a birthday present, a birthday party, he's never had Christmas, Thanksgiving, nothing. So this year is going to be full of firsts," said Girard.

With the help of JMB Fishing out of Waco, Barrington was not only able to have his first birthday party, but go on his first boat ride and fishing trip.

"You know, there are so many things that kids want to do. They want to go to Disney. I have one that wants to go to Hawaii to go on a shark fishing trip. Chris is happy to come out on Lake Waco and ride around on a boat. That's all he wants to do," said fisherman Jimmy Bennett.

And they were more than happy to oblige, giving a new family an experience they won't soon forget.

CNN/KWTX