Chip and Tonya Balduf were living in the mountains of North Carolina. I was Chip’s pastor many years ago in Nashville, and we have kept in touch through social media. I was vacationing at a Florida spring near them recently and had a chance to visit. What I saw moved me to put feet to my prayers and start this fund.
They sold out and moved to rural North Florida to build their homestead before retirement. Chip was an electrician and started working in the area as they began their homestead. They lived in a camper while clearing the land, digging a well, and installing septic. With the exception of a tornado that messed things up, all was going well. After being in Florida for about a year, their plans were tragically interrupted by Chip’s stroke. After about a year of being in and out of the hospital and rehab, Chip has been left with an amputated leg and the use of only one arm. He is wheelchair-bound, incontinent, and must be transferred from bed to chair using a Hoyer lift. He is no longer able to access the camper that was their home due to its height and narrow doors and passageways.
Chip and Tonya have converted a 12x20 storage shed into a makeshift dwelling. They have a cramped bedroom, a camper-sized kitchen, and a bathroom too small for Chip to have access. The only way for Tonya to clean Chip is to give him a sponge bath or take him outside for an outdoor shower. Chip continues to have medical problems that recently required another stay in the hospital and surgery to improve circulation in his remaining leg. They still have to make weekly trips to rehab and frequent trips to the doctor. More than just a financial challenge, this situation has been a tremendous strain on their emotional and physical endurance.
The goal of this fund is to purchase a modular ADA home for Tonya and Chip to have on their property and help take some of the burden off of them. With an ADA home, they will be able to have access to a bathroom where Chip can be more easily and properly cleaned. It will give them more space to maneuver the lift and wheelchair throughout their home. It will give them a second room and an open kitchen to use as a living space instead of only a bedroom to live in. Having a ramp that leads to a driveway will make loading and unloading Chip so much easier and safer when it’s time to go to the doctor. There may be other good options, but this is what we have found thus far.
Please consider helping Chip and Tonya as they face these overwhelming challenges. Your generosity will help them regain a sense of normalcy and hope for the future.
They sold out and moved to rural North Florida to build their homestead before retirement. Chip was an electrician and started working in the area as they began their homestead. They lived in a camper while clearing the land, digging a well, and installing septic. With the exception of a tornado that messed things up, all was going well. After being in Florida for about a year, their plans were tragically interrupted by Chip’s stroke. After about a year of being in and out of the hospital and rehab, Chip has been left with an amputated leg and the use of only one arm. He is wheelchair-bound, incontinent, and must be transferred from bed to chair using a Hoyer lift. He is no longer able to access the camper that was their home due to its height and narrow doors and passageways.
Chip and Tonya have converted a 12x20 storage shed into a makeshift dwelling. They have a cramped bedroom, a camper-sized kitchen, and a bathroom too small for Chip to have access. The only way for Tonya to clean Chip is to give him a sponge bath or take him outside for an outdoor shower. Chip continues to have medical problems that recently required another stay in the hospital and surgery to improve circulation in his remaining leg. They still have to make weekly trips to rehab and frequent trips to the doctor. More than just a financial challenge, this situation has been a tremendous strain on their emotional and physical endurance.
The goal of this fund is to purchase a modular ADA home for Tonya and Chip to have on their property and help take some of the burden off of them. With an ADA home, they will be able to have access to a bathroom where Chip can be more easily and properly cleaned. It will give them more space to maneuver the lift and wheelchair throughout their home. It will give them a second room and an open kitchen to use as a living space instead of only a bedroom to live in. Having a ramp that leads to a driveway will make loading and unloading Chip so much easier and safer when it’s time to go to the doctor. There may be other good options, but this is what we have found thus far.
Please consider helping Chip and Tonya as they face these overwhelming challenges. Your generosity will help them regain a sense of normalcy and hope for the future.
Organizer and beneficiary
Tonya Robbins Balduf
Beneficiary