By Crystal Garcia
TERRE HAUTE — Henry and Rosemary Ellington were one step away from losing their independent lifestyle before community members united to help them get a wheelchair ramp for their home.
As Rosemary’s physical therapist, Tammy Sims visited the Ellingtons in their Terre Haute home often and noticed there was no ramp for Rosemary, 64, to use her walker or wheelchair on, or for Henry, 69, to walk on with his cane.
“… If anything happened to either Rosemary or her husband Henry, they would go to the nursing home,” Sims said. “They wouldn’t be able to stay there, so it’s really important that they not fall down their steps and break a hip. That would pretty much end their independent living.”
A neighbor already helped Rosemary once after she fell on the steps, said Sims, who is a physical therapist with the Visiting Nurse Association.
The solution to the Ellingtons’ problem came in a trickle-down form because Sims’ husband mentioned it to a co-worker who was on the United Way board who then told United Way Executive Director Jim Bertoli.
From there, it was just a matter of getting the labor and the resources. Bertoli spoke with United Way volunteer Jerry Jakubowski, president of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, who then asked a co-worker to see what the students could do as far as coming up with the design and labor for the project.
Meanwhile, Bertoli continued to work toward obtaining resources by speaking with United Way volunteers and board members Ed Ping and Bill Treash of the Wabash Valley Central Labor Council, who donated $200 for materials.
Ping then contacted Jacquie Denehie of United Cerebral Palsy , which is a United Way agency. The group was able to donate $500 toward the project.
Finally, materials were obtained within the $700 budget from Chris Leininger of Lowe’s, Bertoli said.
“This project is a great example of how our United Way can make things happen,” he said, “and how many groups of people are out there looking out for their fellow citizens in need.”
Four members of the Cecil T. Lobo chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers from Rose-Hulman worked together Saturday to tear down the Ellingtons’ old deck and build them a new one, complete with a wheelchair ramp. They plan to go back in a couple of weeks to pour a cement sidewalk for them also.
“It’s a good way for us to help out because we can’t give money,” said ASCE’s Web site manager Tim Sliwinski, a junior from Parkridge, Ill. as he moved debris around the yard.
ASCE’s treasurer Jon Seger, a sophomore from Jasper, said he enjoys seeing the people’s reactions. This is his third time helping out with some type of ramp project.
“They’re usually real appreciative,” he said. “It’s nice, rewarding.”
His last project included building a ramp for a 7-year-old in a wheelchair, he said.
“He was really happy,” Seger said. “It was pretty cool.”
Rosemary and Henry Ellington were also happy and surprised when they found out about the project, Henry said.
“It makes us feel really great that there’s somebody who cared enough,” he said.
Henry said they’ve been in need of the ramp for about 10 years, but didn’t know where to go or what to do. It wasn’t until Rosemary suffered a mini-stroke that Sims began to treat her.
Having had another mini-stroke last Sunday, Rosemary couldn’t speak well, but Henry said she’s thrilled to be getting the ramp so that she’ll be able to get out of the house.
“It’s just marvelous. It’s a prayer being answered that we came into somebody who cared enough to find somebody to do this for us,” Henry said. “… We thank the Lord for Tammy and her husband. And the United Way, there’s no words to express the feelings we have toward them because this is something they didn’t have to do.”
Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.
