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Our 9 year old son, Eamon, was born with Spina Bifida, the number one birth defect in the US. It will never go away, and he will face several challenges, societal and medical, his entire life. He can not use his legs and has no control or feeling in his body below his chest. He still manages to play baseball, kayak, and ski. He wants to play wheelchair basketball too. Most of all... GO BUCKS! He's a HUGE Buckeye fan, so you know how our family spends their Saturdays.
The real struggle at home outside the medical challenges are that our home is a two story home (we didn't know about Eamon's challenges when we bought the house). He can't get up the stairs himself and because his chair doesn't travel well on carpet, he's essentially trapped in his bed until we come to help him get out and downstairs into his chair. Our current home is holding back his independence.
Eamon's dad and I have been working with a home builder to alter a floor plan of one of their single story homes to give Eamon as much independence as possible and for as long as possible (he's still a growing boy). Things like zero threshold doorways (no steps into the house, just ramps or landscaping to bring the outside level with the house), wider doorways (to fit his wheelchair through), sinks he can roll under to wash his hands, a roll in shower, drawers and cabinets in the kitchen that give him as much access to the contents as possible, and laminate floors throughout the house are all things that mean so much toward his independence after seeing him not have it for so long.
But we need help. The cost of creating a home that allows Eamon to feel at home is more than just building with a cookie cutter. He needs to struggle to do things himself and actually succeed. The house has to be set up to do that. The alterations we need with the builder will allow Eamon to wake up, transfer to his wheelchair, head to the kitchen and get his own breakfast. It will allow him to go to other rooms on his own when he needs some quiet time. It will also allow him to have friends over and access all areas of the house freely.
The plan with the builder has to be finalized in two weeks and we will need to have the money for the changes in by January 10, 2017 so we have the funding at closing.
Eamon's dad and I work hard to work around the obstacles life put in front of us, Eamon, and his sister. This obstacle is proving more difficult than any other. Being able to make these alterations with the builder will mean we will be able to create a single place in Eamon's life where he won't have to question his independence.
We can't say how much this would mean to Eamon and us as a family because of what this would do for his independence. We are so greatful you took the time just to read our story. Please consider giving and sharing our story.
The real struggle at home outside the medical challenges are that our home is a two story home (we didn't know about Eamon's challenges when we bought the house). He can't get up the stairs himself and because his chair doesn't travel well on carpet, he's essentially trapped in his bed until we come to help him get out and downstairs into his chair. Our current home is holding back his independence.
Eamon's dad and I have been working with a home builder to alter a floor plan of one of their single story homes to give Eamon as much independence as possible and for as long as possible (he's still a growing boy). Things like zero threshold doorways (no steps into the house, just ramps or landscaping to bring the outside level with the house), wider doorways (to fit his wheelchair through), sinks he can roll under to wash his hands, a roll in shower, drawers and cabinets in the kitchen that give him as much access to the contents as possible, and laminate floors throughout the house are all things that mean so much toward his independence after seeing him not have it for so long.
But we need help. The cost of creating a home that allows Eamon to feel at home is more than just building with a cookie cutter. He needs to struggle to do things himself and actually succeed. The house has to be set up to do that. The alterations we need with the builder will allow Eamon to wake up, transfer to his wheelchair, head to the kitchen and get his own breakfast. It will allow him to go to other rooms on his own when he needs some quiet time. It will also allow him to have friends over and access all areas of the house freely.
The plan with the builder has to be finalized in two weeks and we will need to have the money for the changes in by January 10, 2017 so we have the funding at closing.
Eamon's dad and I work hard to work around the obstacles life put in front of us, Eamon, and his sister. This obstacle is proving more difficult than any other. Being able to make these alterations with the builder will mean we will be able to create a single place in Eamon's life where he won't have to question his independence.
We can't say how much this would mean to Eamon and us as a family because of what this would do for his independence. We are so greatful you took the time just to read our story. Please consider giving and sharing our story.