JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A St. Augustine man says a Jacksonville woman’s act of kindness five years ago saved him from the depths of alcoholism, and he recently returned the favor when she found herself in need.

Richard Lucas, now five years sober and on track to become an attorney, credits a life-saving phone call to Katelyn Vargo with setting him on the path to recovery.

“Nobody wants to be an addict,” Lucas said. “I never wanted to be an alcoholic. It’s an awful disease.”

In February 2020, Lucas was struggling with end-stage alcoholism when he reached out for help.

“It was really becoming life or death,” he said.

That’s when he connected with Vargo, an addiction counselor.

“One night, I made a call and I reached Katelyn,” Lucas said. “They somehow got me from Memphis to Oxford Treatment Center in Mississippi, and that would become the first day of my sobriety.”

After posting a TikTok video about his journey, which quickly went viral, Lucas reconnected with Vargo, only to discover she was battling a chronic illness.

“About 11 months ago I thought I got a stomach bug, and three weeks later it was still there, and I hadn’t barely gotten off of my couch, and I said, ‘Something’s really wrong,'” Vargo said.

The single mother has lost 70 pounds due to the undiagnosed illness and struggles with energy.

“We still have not discovered what was wrong,” she said.

Without hesitation, Lucas organized a fundraiser for Vargo.

“It’s like I saved him, helped save him five years ago,” Vargo said. “Five years later he comes around to thank me and then he saves me. The timing was insane.”

The support came just as Vargo was losing hope.

“When that started to happen, it was the first time that I have felt taken care of,” she said. “It was like I could breathe.”

Thanks to community donations, Vargo and her family now have a new apartment after facing eviction.

Lucas is using his story to inspire others and speaking at conferences nationwide.

“Don’t give up, because if you don’t give up, the possibilities are endless,” Lucas said.

Vargo is hoping to find a doctor who can diagnose and treat her illness. The GoFundMe with more information on her illness can be found here.