We moved into our home two and a half years ago – one floor, two bedroom, two baths. Perfect for us in our (ahem) elder years. And chosen because my husband is a paraplegic from a motorcycle accident in 2015.

Although we are in an over-55 community, the homes built in the 90’s were not ADA. We’ve been making do with Arthur’s wheelchair snugly fitting through the door and making a 90 degree turn into the bedroom hall. The bathroom shower had a 5″ lip so Arthur would transfer from wheelchair to shower chair and lift his legs over the lip. Quite a process. We moved the vanity out and replaced it with a small sink that allowed Arthur’s wheel chair to roll under.

All of these little modifications helped, but didn’t solve the problem.

Enter Werrlein Properties. They’d heard we needed bathroom renovations to make it more accessible for my husband. We set up an appointment with them to evaluate. After Lou arrived and looked the bathroom over, we tossed around ideas. Then he asked what our budget was. We laughed! Lou said he would work something up and get back to us.

A couple of weeks passed and we heard they wanted to set up an appointment to go over a few things. Lou and the owner, Jon, arrived, looked over the bathroom again and showed us some drawings with their ideas. Remove the molding around the doors entering both the bedroom and the bathroom, widening the doors so Arthur’s wheelchair had more room. Replace the curtain on the door with a pocket door for privacy in the bathroom. Replace the current shower with a roll-in shower. And add a barn door for privacy in the bedroom area.

“What did you think?,” Jon asked. We were impressed with the ideas and thought they would make Arthur’s life easier. But we were hesitant to get too excited. We couldn’t imagine how we could afford it.

“What if it were all free?,” Jon said. Now we were speechless! Jon explained that he had lined up Home Depot and several other retailers for supplies.

“What about labor?,” I asked.

“It’s taken care of,” Jon said, “When do you want us to start?”

A week later, renovations have begun! And we got to put the first hole in the wall! Today, Vlad and Julio gutted the entire bathroom, removed the molding on both doors and enlarged the closet. They also got into the attic to work on the electrical for new lights in the shower, recessed lighting on the ceiling and new lights over the vanity!

I’d love to upload photos but my computer isn’t cooperating so stand by for photos of the process!

This life isn’t easy, we have many daily behind-the-scenes expenses, and our lives have just been blessed!

Thanks to Werrlein Properties, Home Depot, Morris Tile and Thomas Sommerville for this amazing gift!

We are so grateful for you and your kindness!

Angela & Arthur

theitaliangrandmama@gmail.com