Help Sue make her home accessible!

On September 10, 2015 my amazing wife, Sue, suffered a stroke that left her wheelchair bound and changed our
family’s lives forever. 

 

Sue has been dedicated to helping others her entire life whether it’s volunteering for Toronto’s Youth Corps,
offering a kind word or hand up to a street person. Sue can’t wait to get back to her “Dream Job” working as the
Designated Registered Early Childhood Educator in the Full Day Kindergarten program. But most of all Sue loves
spending quality time with our family. 

 

However, all of that changed one unfortunate fall morning. At 45, she had an unexpected stroke and due to
extreme pain, had to undergo spinal surgery to remove a disc in her back. She was also hospitalized twice more and due to loss of strength on her left side, she has been bound to a wheelchair. However, the situation is getting worse. Sue is now unable to propel herself using a manual wheelchair and cannot get around the house. 

Our entire family has been affected by this because Sue has been unable to be present for our son and daughter’s
life achievements during her recovery. This was devastating for her both physically, and emotionally. 

 

On top of all of this, our home is not accessible for Sue. She cannot move in and out of our home because the doors are not wide enough to fit her wheelchair and she currently sleeps in a hospital bed in our dining room. This has
taken a toll on her mental health. While I can’t undo Sue’s stroke, I want to make her day-to-day life as comfortable as possible. We are asking for your help to retrofit our home to make it accessible including:

 

Widening doorways
Installing a ramp from the dining room to the deck, and from the deck to the yard
Leveling and adding new sod
Some shade and a shed to store her equipment; allowing her to independently go outside to conduct her
physiotherapy, etc.
Another goal is to turn half of our garage into a main floor bedroom for Sue, which would remove her hospital bed
from our dining room.
Stair lift (approximately $12,000)
Storage for wheelchair and equipment
 

 

Sue has given so much of herself to communities around Whitby and the GTA, whether it's helping organize and
implement many of the Y.M.C.A. Healthy Kids Days, donating time as a Minister of the Children’s Liturgy, or
helping our children collect donations of toys and school supplies to distribute to a schoolhouse in Jamaica, she
has always put others first. Now I am calling on you, your friends, family, and coworkers to help giveback to Sue in
her time of need.

 

Any donation made will be greatly appreciated and will go directly towards Sue’s medical needs and support. It is
important to remember that no donation is too small; every donation is a valuable contribution to her
independence and mobility.

 

Whether or not you can donate, I ask that you please share this with friends, family, social media groups, neighbors, coworkers, or anyone else you can think of. The success of this campaign is in everyone’s hands.

Thank you for your kind consideration,

Sheldon

 

A Message from Sue,

 

“Thank you, to all of you who have or are willing to contribute. It means so Much to me as I am usually the one to be putting others first. I wish to help out wherever I can. 

Blessings and Prayers to you all. - Sue”