christmas spirit
Dec. 24th, 2004 10:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
threeplusfireYesterday I posted an article about how stupid people can be with their money. that isn't really Christmasy or happy I suppose. So I'll make up for it today with this article from the local paper. There's a show on ABC called "Home Makeover" that is hosted and organized by Ty Pennington, former carpenter of Trading Spaces and lust object for home owners across America. He remodels entire homes for families in need. Someone here in Austin was inspired by that show, and took it upon himself to make that happen for a family here. Sometimes, I do feel better about people in general. (to be completely honest I bawled at my desk when I read this today.)
A homespun "Home Edition"
Man with Lou Gehrig's disease gets newly remodeled home for Christmas
Advertisement
Jay Janner/ AMERICAN-STATESMAN
By Melissa Ludwig
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, December 24, 2004
Joe Rank and Bo Busby don't know each other very well, but they have two things in common. Both have Lou Gehrig's disease, a brain and muscle disorder that strikes one or two out of every 100,000 people, and both live in the same Southwest Austin neighborhood.
When Busby heard that Joe and Linda Rank needed a few home repairs, he felt compelled to help the couple, who have four young children. The project quickly ballooned into a complete remodel that would widen doors and open spaces to accommodate Joe's loss of mobility — and eventually a wheelchair — as his disease advances.
In a homespun version of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," Busby recruited a small army of volunteers to transform the home in the space of a week, knocking down walls, adding bedrooms, replacing furniture and decking the halls with Christmas cheer.
"This is what Christmas is really about," said Busby, 38. "Giving unconditionally. I'm walking in Joe's shoes right now."
On Tuesday afternoon, Busby visited the house on Wagon Train Road as volunteers scraped floors, painted walls and nailed cabinets at a manic pace. He provided moral support and affectionate ribbing, but his hands, hanging awkwardly at his side, would not allow him to wield a hammer.
Doctors diagnosed Busby with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2000. The disease has no cure. It leaves the brain intact but robs a person of the ability to move muscles, causing paralysis and loss of speech. ALS affects everyone differently, but most who have the disease die within five years of diagnosis.
Busby has been fortunate. Aside from weakness in his arms and legs, his symptoms are fairly mild. He works as the president of corporate services at Hill Partners Inc., a commercial real estate company.
Rank, 39, was diagnosed in 2002. He can still walk but has fallen several times, his wife, Linda, said. He speaks with the aid of a computer. An avid musician, Rank is finding that his piano-playing days are slipping away.
He is also unable to work after being in the software industry for six years. Linda Rank has just finished her first year of teaching art at Pickle Elementary and struggles to get Cole, 11, Hannah, 8, and twins Ryan and Patrick, 4, to school, then go to work, come home and do chores.
"The renovations on the home could not have come at a better time," she said. "Sometimes when you are weary, help just comes your way. It makes me feel very loved by people who don't even know me."
Busby has raised about $30,000 in cash from his extended network of friends, co-workers and generous strangers, as well as countless in-kind donations from local companies. He coaxed suggestions — and a color scheme — from Linda Rank but wanted the rest to remain a surprise.
Last Friday, the Ranks packed up and headed to a cabin on Horseshoe Bay in Marble Falls.
"I don't know who is crazier, us for undertaking this, or them for allowing strangers to come in and gut their house," said Sean Cockrell, Busby's brother-in-law. Cockrell, a general and mechanical contractor, headed the team of volunteers and construction workers.
"The whole goal of the design is to give them an opportunity to be a family," he said. "We channeled everything to where Joe normally is."
The team opened up the living area and enlarged the kitchen, adding new cabinets and a walk-in pantry. They turned a bank of windows into French doors leading into the back yard and built a wooden deck where the couple can sit and watch the children play. The team converted a study into a bedroom so that all four children could have their own rooms.
There's a new trampoline, as well as new beds, appliances, furniture and an air-conditioning system. In the master bedroom, Cockrell tried to craft a retreat for the couple and installed a shower that can fit a wheelchair.
The Ranks' neighbors, who have watched the team working 16-hour days, have pitched in by bringing over muffins and coffee at 5 a.m. and making brisket for dinner.
"If ever anybody deserved it, it is them," neighbor Carol Cosgrove said.
Cockrell said he watches "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" religiously, especially the parts when celebrity carpenter Ty Pennington explains how he works his magic.
Busby said he and Cockrell originally wanted to nominate the family for the show but thought it would take too long.
"Lou Gehrig's doesn't have a lot of time associated with it," Busby said. "We want them to enjoy what they've got right now."
On Thursday, the Rank family walked into a house they didn't recognize, grinning in amazement at the new tile and carpet, the Christmas tree stacked with gifts and a cheering crowd of well-wishers, volunteers and TV cameras.
Joe couldn't say much, but his delight was evident.
"Where's our house?" 11-year-old Cole said.
"Where's the ketchup on the ceiling?" Linda joked.
"It's beautiful. My imagination could not have dreamt all this."
How you can help
If you would like to contribute to the 'extreme makeover,' you can send a check made out to First House Inc. (a nonprofit set up for the project) addressed to Bo Busby, Hill Partners, 2800 Industrial Terrace, Austin, TX 78758. Busby has raised 60 percent of his goal of $50,000. Any donations not used on the house will go into a college fund for the Rank children.
A homespun "Home Edition"
Man with Lou Gehrig's disease gets newly remodeled home for Christmas
Advertisement
Jay Janner/ AMERICAN-STATESMAN
By Melissa Ludwig
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, December 24, 2004
Joe Rank and Bo Busby don't know each other very well, but they have two things in common. Both have Lou Gehrig's disease, a brain and muscle disorder that strikes one or two out of every 100,000 people, and both live in the same Southwest Austin neighborhood.
When Busby heard that Joe and Linda Rank needed a few home repairs, he felt compelled to help the couple, who have four young children. The project quickly ballooned into a complete remodel that would widen doors and open spaces to accommodate Joe's loss of mobility — and eventually a wheelchair — as his disease advances.
In a homespun version of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," Busby recruited a small army of volunteers to transform the home in the space of a week, knocking down walls, adding bedrooms, replacing furniture and decking the halls with Christmas cheer.
"This is what Christmas is really about," said Busby, 38. "Giving unconditionally. I'm walking in Joe's shoes right now."
On Tuesday afternoon, Busby visited the house on Wagon Train Road as volunteers scraped floors, painted walls and nailed cabinets at a manic pace. He provided moral support and affectionate ribbing, but his hands, hanging awkwardly at his side, would not allow him to wield a hammer.
Doctors diagnosed Busby with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2000. The disease has no cure. It leaves the brain intact but robs a person of the ability to move muscles, causing paralysis and loss of speech. ALS affects everyone differently, but most who have the disease die within five years of diagnosis.
Busby has been fortunate. Aside from weakness in his arms and legs, his symptoms are fairly mild. He works as the president of corporate services at Hill Partners Inc., a commercial real estate company.
Rank, 39, was diagnosed in 2002. He can still walk but has fallen several times, his wife, Linda, said. He speaks with the aid of a computer. An avid musician, Rank is finding that his piano-playing days are slipping away.
He is also unable to work after being in the software industry for six years. Linda Rank has just finished her first year of teaching art at Pickle Elementary and struggles to get Cole, 11, Hannah, 8, and twins Ryan and Patrick, 4, to school, then go to work, come home and do chores.
"The renovations on the home could not have come at a better time," she said. "Sometimes when you are weary, help just comes your way. It makes me feel very loved by people who don't even know me."
Busby has raised about $30,000 in cash from his extended network of friends, co-workers and generous strangers, as well as countless in-kind donations from local companies. He coaxed suggestions — and a color scheme — from Linda Rank but wanted the rest to remain a surprise.
Last Friday, the Ranks packed up and headed to a cabin on Horseshoe Bay in Marble Falls.
"I don't know who is crazier, us for undertaking this, or them for allowing strangers to come in and gut their house," said Sean Cockrell, Busby's brother-in-law. Cockrell, a general and mechanical contractor, headed the team of volunteers and construction workers.
"The whole goal of the design is to give them an opportunity to be a family," he said. "We channeled everything to where Joe normally is."
The team opened up the living area and enlarged the kitchen, adding new cabinets and a walk-in pantry. They turned a bank of windows into French doors leading into the back yard and built a wooden deck where the couple can sit and watch the children play. The team converted a study into a bedroom so that all four children could have their own rooms.
There's a new trampoline, as well as new beds, appliances, furniture and an air-conditioning system. In the master bedroom, Cockrell tried to craft a retreat for the couple and installed a shower that can fit a wheelchair.
The Ranks' neighbors, who have watched the team working 16-hour days, have pitched in by bringing over muffins and coffee at 5 a.m. and making brisket for dinner.
"If ever anybody deserved it, it is them," neighbor Carol Cosgrove said.
Cockrell said he watches "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" religiously, especially the parts when celebrity carpenter Ty Pennington explains how he works his magic.
Busby said he and Cockrell originally wanted to nominate the family for the show but thought it would take too long.
"Lou Gehrig's doesn't have a lot of time associated with it," Busby said. "We want them to enjoy what they've got right now."
On Thursday, the Rank family walked into a house they didn't recognize, grinning in amazement at the new tile and carpet, the Christmas tree stacked with gifts and a cheering crowd of well-wishers, volunteers and TV cameras.
Joe couldn't say much, but his delight was evident.
"Where's our house?" 11-year-old Cole said.
"Where's the ketchup on the ceiling?" Linda joked.
"It's beautiful. My imagination could not have dreamt all this."
How you can help
If you would like to contribute to the 'extreme makeover,' you can send a check made out to First House Inc. (a nonprofit set up for the project) addressed to Bo Busby, Hill Partners, 2800 Industrial Terrace, Austin, TX 78758. Busby has raised 60 percent of his goal of $50,000. Any donations not used on the house will go into a college fund for the Rank children.