The Soldiers, The Project

When I sent out that e-mail to all of dad's friends, one person came back with a suggestion. He thought he had heard that the soldiers at Ft. Leonard Wood near Waynesville would do a home renovation for a disabled veteran. Byron called a contact there and made initial introductions, and I called later. We talked about what renovations might be done to the house, when dad served in the Army, and what next steps might be.

From there, it was about 2 months later before anyone came to the house to assess the situation to see if they could even help. They were very positive from the beginning. They took a lot of pictures, measurements, and notes.

Much planning went into the project. Sergeant Feick is the person who finally took ownership of the project to make it happen. He created a detailed materials list complete with prices. He is very conscious about costs and has been very careful about spending.

The soldiers will gut the bathroom and make it handicapped accessible. They will also put a different door to his bedroom so his wheelchair can fit through it. We also need to replace carpeting to make it a low pile so dad's wheelchair can maneuver throughe the house. They also level off a hill and put in ramps for him to be abel to get to the front door. One project they also agreed to has nothing to do with the accessibility of the house, but the retaining wall is leaning and is attached to the deck. It is pulling the deck away from the house and causing damage. They will fix that as well.