Around our house every day is Veteran's Day. My husband is a vet who was badly wounded in Vietnam in 1969 at age 19.
We met in 1989 when he came into my showroom and asked me to help him redesign his kitchen. He was walking on his prosthetic legs at the time. Dumb me! I had no idea he was a double amputee until I arrived at his door to measure his kitchen.
Needless to say, I was momentarily taken aback. That was my first experience working with a disabled client and, in those days, our education and training didn't encompass working with the disabled.
He showed me his kitchen and we talked for several hours about the possibilities. He had already removed a wall that once divided the kitchen from the dining room. He related how he had once spilled a pot of boiling spaghetti on his lap in an effort to move the pot from his stove to the sink. I was horrified because kitchen safety is one thing I strongly advocate.
I told him that the $25,000 that he had saved for his project, while perfectly adequate for a "normal" kitchen remodel, wouldn't be nearly enough for the customizations that he would need to make his kitchen safe for use in a wheelchair. We parted with him disappointed and me disturbed.
The next morning, as I prepared for work, I couldn't get him out of my mind...And then a brainstorm! At the time I was on the Board of NARI (the National Association of the Remodeling Industry) San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. We had just started the chapter and were looking for ways to publicize the organization. We could remodel his kitchen as a community service project!
There was a Board meeting a few days later. I broached the idea and the rest of the Board thought it was wonderful. Right then and there we passed a resolution to remodel George's kitchen and get all the materials donated to make his cost as close to nothing as possible.
Excited, I called George with my news. His response: "No way. I'm not a charity case!" It took me three months to convince him. He finally capitulated when I told him if he didn't participate I would find somebody else who would!
I set to work to get together donors and volunteers. Everything was delivered to the site and we commenced with tearout on October 16th 1989. By the end of the day George's kitchen was down to the bare studs.
The following day, at 5:04 p.m., the Loma Prieta earthquake struck the Bay Area. Suddenly all of the contractor volunteers, who had been scratching for work before the quake, were overwhelmed with work. Many came from the East Bay, and the Bay Bridge was down. The project that I had so carefully planned to take three weeks stretched to three months of interminable nagging on my part, and complaining on George's part, before it was finally complete.
At long last, George had his wheelchair accessible kitchen. My task was complete. Needless to say we didn't stop the relationship we had forged over the 8-9 months from that fateful night when I stood on his front porch for the first time. Instead allowing it to bloom into a 20 year relationship and marriage that has endured the tests of time.
Hopefully my story will inspire others to assist our veterans, especially the disabled ones, to live fully realized lives. In this spirit, I continue to offer free design services to disabled veterans. So, if you are a disabled vet reading this, and you need my design services. Please email me. I am happy to oblige, on this Veteran's day, or any day.
If you want to help a vet, a good place to start is with Wounded Warrior Project. Or volunteer at a VA hospital near your community. In the Bay Area we have the San Francisco VA Medical Center, and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, also a smaller division in Menlo Park, and another in Livermore.
Peggy
