A Roberts Creek couple got an unexpected Christmas gift this season, one which has already changed their lives dramatically.
Ever since he was injured at work, the husband has been in a wheelchair, but their apartment’s door was at the bottom of a set of stairs that his wife has had to navigate, while pushing the chair. Their neighbour saw the wife struggling and wondered aloud, on Facebook, if someone could help. And someone did. Several someones in fact.
Clark Hamilton Construction donated some materials and labour to build the formwork for an exterior ramp to replace the stairs, as well as an interior ramp to get the husband’s chair down from the inside of the front door. Rona also donated supplies for the construction project. Coast Concrete donated the concrete and Denis Turenne provided the pour. Hamilton, who orchestrated his suppliers and crew, said: “We recognized this was a serious need and decided to donate what we could to make it better for them.”
The husband says he and his wife took the ramp for a “test drive” and when he got to the top of it he flung his arms in the air and shouted, “Freedom!” Because of the difficulty in navigating the old stairs, he was mostly confined to his home with the occasional medical transport to Sechelt Hospital for treatments. Now, he says, he can get up to the road, catch the bus and go to the Blackfish for his upcoming birthday lunch. That’s freedom for which he is enormously grateful.
When questioned as to why they had stepped up to help a Coaster in need, everyone involved in the project said it was because they were asked to.
That’s community and Christmas spirit, all wrapped up in a bow.
– Joanna Piros, Contributing Writer
