I have tried to decide how to share the story of Home Depot's help. On the one hand I want everyone to know what a wonderful GIFT Home Depot is gracing us with. On the other hand I know we aren't destitute and yet we are accepting this gift! As part of my job at FUMC Durango, I help destitute people, I see what homeless means, and I see the ravages of poor choices. We are neither homeless, nor making poor choices. We are dealing with Parkinson's.
A few months ago Russ and I started having conversations about 'down the road'. Will we be able to stay here when a cane is no longer sufficient. Where can we build ramps? What is a good wheel chair path? Maybe it would be easier to move to a condo? It is daunting to know the reality of Parkinson's and that planning ahead is essential. So where do we begin? We decided first off that we want to stay right here, in the country, in our home. Several years ago we built a small apartment on the back of our barn. It was our ode to health care. We thought we could have a care giver live there and we wouldn't have to go to a nursing home when / if the time came for that. Great idea right? In the meantime we have rented it as a vacation rental. Somehow our world got sidetracked and the use of the guest house as a care givers apartment will be sooner rather than later.
What to do? Well, we decided we needed to make the house as functional as possible. We needed above all else to 'fix' the kitchen. The short story there is that the door into the kitchen was VERY narrow and Russ got 'stuck' there. By stuck I mean one of the repercussions of Parkinson's is freezing. Your feet get stuck, you teeter forward and you 'hope' you can remain upright. The brain connection to movement is impaired. When you have been walking with no thought to the process for 75+ years and suddenly you 'stick' to the floor, it is unnerving. We NEEDED to take that wall and doorway out.
Just last year we used a local non-profit and installed solar. There went our remodel money. Had we known we would need to make changes to the house the funds would have gone there. Ah, for hindsight. So I emailed Ikea, Lowes, Home Depot and several cabinet companies explaining the situation and asking if they have any program that might grant a discount for the necessary remodel. I got 3 replies. Ikea emailed me and told me to watch for sales. One cabinet company sent me a catalog. Home Depot?
They are ALL ABOUT improving homes, improving lives. They consciously make an effort at every store to help locally. I got a phone call from the main office in Georgia telling me they would like to help and to go to the manager of my local store and share my story. I did and he and his head project manager came to the house (!!!!). We talked and they are helping. And there you have improving homes, improving lives.
Home Depot Durango has been amazing. Brett and Joe Buck have been caring with every communication. Stay tuned for our transformation. Cabinets arrive next week and destruction / construction begins the following week. Thank you Home Depot.