A Bridgeport woman is moving into a handicapped-accessible apartment weeks after major spinal surgery left her unable to get in and out of her home.

News 12 Connecticut first introduced Carmen Rivera Santiago, 79, two weeks ago when she was returning home from her surgery. It took two men to get her up to the apartment, after tying her down for safety in a plastic patio chair.

MORE: Bridgeport woman struggles to find handicapped-accessible affordable senior housing

Rivera Santiago had been living with her daughter, Maria Rivera, on the second floor of a house on East Main Street. But that's all over now Rivera says, because her mom is moving into a newly renovated, handicapped-accessible senior apartment at Fireside Apartments on the Upper East Side of Bridgeport.

Rivera says she had been trying for years to get her mom housing, but it wasn't until city officials and the Housing Authority came together after seeing their story on News 12 Connecticut that Rivera's dream for her mother finally became a reality.

Rivera says the assistance has made her family happy and grateful. She says Latina women, especially those of her mom's generation, treasure their independence.