Trulock Makes Mom's House Wheelchair Accessible

Hey there, my name is Chris Trulock.

There's a fair amount of background to this story, so I'll try to briefly summarize things before I get into it: I'm raising money to widen the doorway to the bathroom at my mother's home, so she can reliably get to the toilet and the shower. The background and additional details follow if you're interested.

My mom has had multiple sclerosis (MS) my entire life. It is usually well-managed with medication, but several years ago she needed knee replacement surgery to alleviate chronic severe pain. Thanks to the MS and the reality that Medicaid does not cover sufficient recuperative therapy, and despite multiple follow-up procedures to remove scar tissue, she has since lost the ability to walk.

The family home was built in the '40s; in other words, accessibility was not even vaguely considered. None of the doors are wheelchair accessible, and several key doors aren't even walker accessible. However, since her mother (my grandmother) lived there as well, we were able to navigate the situation reasonably well.

[Picture: the doorway to the bathroom, the main point of concern; the door is 24" wide, while ADA standards for wheelchairs suggest 36".]

To the best of my ability, I provided maintenance (electrical, plumbing, general construction, etc) as needed while grandma and the care assistants assigned to my mom provided more daily routine care since I am currently living elsewhere while completing a degree in biochemistry.

In January of this year, my grandmother passed away after an extended battle with cervical cancer and a resulting fistula (a tear between intestinal cavities). Dealing with that loss has been difficult enough, emotionally, but the loss of income and in-person care has turned the accessibility problems in the house from severe inconveniences to effective emergencies: mom isn't able to shower and has to use a bedside commode rather than a toilet.

[Picture: the bedside commode that has served as mom's "toilet" for the past several years.]

With the help of a friend, I was able to expand the doorway to the kitchen. This allowed mom to prepare her own food, at least. Previously, some local charities were able to install a ramp (seen in the main photo for this GoFundMe) to the front door. Notably, the front door remains only marginally wheelchair-accessible (it's only 32" wide), but the resources of these local charities are, obviously and understandably, limited.

[Picture: the doorway to the kitchen, demonstrating the work I've already done to the house to make it more wheelchair-friendly; the door was originally 28", now it is ADA-standard 36".]

In addition to this page, I'm reaching out to the National MS Society, as well as the local branch of Habitat For Humanity, to see if they are able to assist. I have low expectations, however, as the contractor's estimate I obtained suggests the modifications required just to the bathroom would cost around $22,000.

Expanding the doorway to the kitchen was a large project in a house this age, and for various reasons doing the same for the bathroom (which involves a load-bearing wall) will be a much larger project. In a perfect world, I would be asking for enough money to obtain professional help to handle this. But I do have the skills and most of the tools required to do the work myself, so I'm only asking for enough money to cover the supplies I'll need to expand the doorway and convert the tub/shower into a walk-in shower with accessibility provisions.

I don't feel especially comfortable asking for assistance/money at all, as I view the whole situation as primarily my responsibility. That said, I need the help.

The funds will go primarily towards expanding the doorway to the bathroom, which will require relocating an electrical box and removing/replacing cabinets which are built into the walls. Further, the floor will have to be redone as the tile does not extend below the cabinets. Finally, the bathtub/shower combination will need to be relocated to allow more space around the toilet, and the tub/shower itself will need to be replaced with a more appropriate walk-in shower setup.

[Picture: the bathroom doorway, seen from inside; the cabinets on the left and right will need to be removed to accommodate the larger door frame, and the light switch (meaning the electrical box and wiring) will need to be relocated as well.]

I'll also admit that I incurred substantial debt (~$4000) trying to help pay for my grandmother's care prior to her death, so while I will do my best to keep things entirely separate, it's likely that some of the funds raised will go towards that...especially since we still need to purchase a headstone for her grave.

I'll try to provide progress updates as I am able, and if any of the organizations I'm contacting are able to assist, the funding goal will change accordingly (if that's a thing I can do after the fact. I'm not sure how this works, to be perfectly honest.)

Regardless of whether or not you choose to help, thanks for taking the time to read all of this. Be well.

- Chris