Volunteer-driven home makeover

By JOHN ANASTASI
phillyBurbs.com




Inspired by last month's “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” project in Middletown, Denise Naylor's friends and family have used three days and numerous community donations to make her Bristol Township home more wheelchair-friendly.

In 2002, Naylor was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable and fatal condition that progressively paralyzes the body's muscles. It's also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, after the Yankees player who was forced to leave baseball because of the debilitating condition.

Naylor, 44, uses a wheelchair and lives in a 55-year-old ranch-style home that wasn't designed for one.

“She had a bad day and we just started making phone calls to friends and family members,” said Mike Napoli of Falls, Naylor's brother.

They raised money that they used to put Naylor's family up for three nights at the Courtyard by Marriott in Falls, convinced local companies to kick in building materials and labor and got down to business Thursday night.

“We put it together in about two weeks,” said Napoli.

About 5,600 Americans a year are diagnosed with ALS, a motor neuron disease that causes degeneration throughout the brain and spinal cord. Ninety percent of people with the ailment die within 10 years of their diagnosis, according to the ALS Association.

Naylor's husband, Cliff, said her doctors have indicated that the disease seems to be progressing relatively slowly in her case.

The work on their house is centered on the rear section of the Magnolia Drive house Naylor shares with her husband and their three daughters. That portion contained two bedrooms, a computer room and a powder room/bathroom.

Workers removed the wall separating the powder room from the bathroom to make it easier for a wheelchair to navigate and replaced the standard tub with a low-base one that would be easier for Naylor to use.

They also removed the wall between the master bedroom and the computer room to double the size of her sleeping area and widened the doorways so the wheelchair could more easily pass through that section of the house.


“We put a door [to the bedroom] on a 45-degree angle [from the hallway] so she would not have to make a sharp turn,” Napoli said.

New carpet, paint and the installation of the new tub and tile work complete the job.

Napoli estimated the renovation would have cost between $15,000 and $18,000 without the donated labor and materials. The crew hopes to finish it for between $1,500 and $2,200 — including the cost of the hotel room.

“It's great,” Cliff Naylor said of the work. “It's something I knew I needed to get done, but I couldn't do it myself or finance it.”

The companies that donated goods and services or sold items at discounts for the project include Bristol Fuel — CBM and Tyler Plumbing Co. in Bristol; The David Cutler Group in Plymouth Meeting; and Color Tile Plus Inc. of Bristol Township.

“We [also] got a lot of donations from small businesses,” said Cliff Naylor, who works in manufacturing at Lockheed Martin.

Denise Naylor is well known in the ALS community.

During the last few years, she has served as spokeswoman for the Bucks County Walk to D'Feet ALS, which is sponsored by the ALS Association's Greater Philadelphia chapter. The annual walk has raised about $250,000 to fund ALS research and support the families of those affected by the disease.

This year's event, which is expected to draw more than 600 walkers, will be April 21 at Oxford Valley Mall.

FYI

For more information about the Bucks County Walk to D'Feet ALS, contact Julie McKeever at 215-643-5434 ext. 26 or visit www.alsphiladelphia.org.


Anyone interested in donating to the Naylor family can send a check in care of Mike Napoli, 74 Elm Lane, Levittown, PA 19054.
John Anastasi can be reached at 215-949-4170 and at janastasi@phillyBurbs.com.