NAPLES, FL -
A Naples woman is suffering from a
rare and incurable disease and her 24-year-old son is struggling to keep
her comfortable in her final months.
Stephanie Bryant, 58, was diagnosed with
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), also known as the human form of mad cow
disease. Within months, Stephanie's health quickly deteriorated. She
has memory loss, constant tremors, can't walk and can barely talk.
When her symptoms started about two months
ago, her son Charlie Bryant quit his job in Rhode Island and moved to
Naples to care for his mom around the clock. When he got home, the house
was a mess.
"The condition of house was unlivable," said
Charlie. "The dogs had gone to the bathroom in here, the cats had
dropped all over the carpets."
Fleas infested the carpet, the air-conditioning was broken, and a back door had been broken into.
Charlie has been struggling to fix up the
home to make it comfortable for his mom, but it has been tough without a
job and little money. Now The Home Depot Team is stepping it to help.
"Charlie is doing everything he can to be
there for [his mom] to try to have a decent living environment, so my
heart goes out to him," said Daniel Zurbrigg with The Home Depot. "We're
overwhelmed with joy to have this opportunity to help this family out."
Charlie says he is grateful for the support, knowing his mom only has months to live.
"I'm really lost at this point, I don't know
what to expect," said Charlie. "Everyone tells me you're doing such a
great job and you're so strong right now but as soon as it's over and I
don't have my mom, it's going to be a shock."
CJD only affect about one in one-million
people each year in the US. The disease isn't contagious through
human-to-human contact. It's either hereditary or transmitted through
contaminated meat or medical procedures.
If you would like to learn more about the Bryant family's story you can follow Charlie on Facebook.
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