Bob (Poll) the builder aids Grandville family
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
By Tom Rademacher
The Grand Rapids Press



Ever wonder whatever happens to families whose hope for a new home is passed over by ABC's "Extreme Makeover Home Edition"?

If they're lucky, they get a second chance from guys such as Bob Poll.

Dave and Erin Stelma's story is as sad as nearly any you might hear on the Sunday night television program that each week features a family in need of better digs.

Just two years into their marriage, the Grandville couple lost their first-born, Madison, to a congenital heart disease. She was just shy of 3 months old. It would be the second tragedy for Dave, who lost a brother to kidney disease when he was just a teen.

The Stelmas have had two healthy kids since losing Madison but, last year, Dave was diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Almost overnight, Dave became unable to continue as a master plumber in the business he established with a partner. Once an avid bodybuilder capable of bench-pressing the combined weight of two good-sized adults, he now has trouble lifting a toothbrush to his mouth.

To compound their grief, the couple's hope of building a dream home all but vanished as Dave lost the ability to lift, bend and do everything else he planned to do in constructing a house for his family. Their current dwelling is not handicap-accessible.

Enter Poll, who, after learning that the producers of Home Makeover decided to pass on the Stelma story, figured he would help write the final chapter himself with a lot of help. Poll, who became a contractor after retiring a year ago as a Kentwood elementary teacher, knew Stelma from working with him.

"We don't need ABC (television) to do this," Poll told a group of supporters. "We can do this."

So he went to work, serving as general contractor for the project and partnering with his church -- First Reformed in Grandville -- to solicit labor and materials.

Later this month, the Stelmas hope to move into a beautiful blue and white home that offers views of their wooded lot, bedrooms for their two kids -- Nicholas, 6, and Blake, 2 -- as well as considerations for the wheelchair Dave uses to get around.



It features a two-stall attached garage, a large kitchen/family area, and more than 1,900 square feet of sparkling space that was built with nothing expected in return by those who showed up to cover everything from footings to a fireplace.

"Hard to explain," said Dave's wife, Erin, when asked to convey her sentiments.

But then she found the words: "Overwhelming love is what it is."

Dave Stelma was the image of vitality before being struck by ALS, an incurable degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system and one's muscle control.

A graduate of Grandville High School and Michigan State University, Dave kept himself in tip-top shape throughout school and well into his career.

"I used to be able to bench-press more than 300 pounds but, now, I can barely brush my teeth," he said. "These days, I can sit in the wheelchair. And I can talk and breathe pretty good."

Dave, who is 35, found his calling in plumbing, and co-founded the business. But his health began to fail and, in 2007, he was diagnosed. Barring a miracle, he has but a few years to live.

"I used to think I was Superman. I could do anything. And, two years later, it's all taken away. It just goes to show that you're not in control. You take one day at a time. And you see what happens."

Poll waves away any credit for the house, preferring instead to tell stories of how local vendors stepped up to discount or offer at no charge the home's flooring, cabinets, tiling, appliances, granite countertops and much more.

Poll and others also have been instrumental in raising funds for the Stelmas through silent auctions and a golf outing. A family friend in Hudsonville took in donations last Christmas from people dropping by to marvel at his outdoor holiday decorations.

"The Stelmas have seen things and been through things in their lives that no one should have to bear," Poll said. "And yet their lives are a wonderful testimony to God."

Bringing people on board to help a family like theirs, says Poll, was simply a matter of contacting vendors and contractors and telling them the Stelmas' story.

"The interesting thing about it all," Poll said, "is that none of this was a hard sell."

Tom Rademacher's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. E-mail: trademacher@grpress.com

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