Building homes, rebuilding lives

Brady

When her 19-year-old son was killed while stationed in Hawaii, the victim of a freak automobile accident, Janet Brady channeled her personal grief into a nationwide mission: the Adopt-A-Soldier Now program.

Armed with a mother's knowledge of the day-to-day needs of soldiers, Brady established a three-fold plan of attack: 1) promoting "adoptions" of deployed soldiers to individuals who send cards, pictures and special care packages; 2) planning Operation Homecoming events to welcome back soldiers and supply their barracks with bedding, toiletries, etc., since these are no longer provided for them; and 3) creating a Wounded Warriors project to help permanently injured soldiers with new housing needs.

This last mission brought Brady to Troup Saturday night to attend the A m e r i c a n Legion's benefit for T o m m y Guinn.

"We are focusing all our time and energy since the end of last month on the Guinns," said Brady, a flight attendant who lives in Dallas. "There are thousands more with needs, but we have to take them one at a time. We'll work every avenue we can think of until the Guinns get their home."

Bobbie and Tommy Guinn have purchased 1.38 acres in Overton and are eager to build their new home there, close to his family.

Bobbie and Tommy Guinn

"Right now we have a rental house in Selman City. It is very difficult for Tommy; he cannot get in the house without assistance, take regular showers or cook without great difficulty," said Bobbie. "As a paraplegic he is capable of being totally independent, but due to our living situation he cannot do that yet."

Tommy sustained his injuries while serving on a humanitarian mission in Pakistan, providing earthquake relief. He was making repairs on a helicopter when he was hit by a blade and fell 20 feet to the ground, landing on his head. Tommy is now paralyzed from the waist down.

His injuries have been a wakeup call of sorts, said Bobbie.

"The difficulties that we encounter out in public are things that are so easily fixed, but people aren't aware of the need to fix them. Things like not enough parking spaces, tables that are too low for the wheelchair to fit under or too close together, fixtures in stores that are too close together, or even things as simple as automatic doors," said Bobbie. "There are people in wheelchairs who don't go anywhere because it is just too difficult. We need to change that."

Pictured are before and after (top) photos of the Westbrooks' home in Lawton, Okla.

"There is a difference between wheelchair accessible and handicap accessible. I didn't know that before Tommy's accident; it took something like this before we became aware."

Likewise, a house to suit the family's needs must have more than a ramp entrance; doorways and hallways must be wider, the bathroom must be larger and with special accommodations and, in Tommy's case anyway, the kitchen needs a lower work space.

"I'm not interested in the dishes; you can leave the sink where it is," said Tommy, who cooks breakfast for his wife and two children each morning. A kitchen built to accommodate his needs would make the task much easier.

Tommy also has his own vision for the bathroom: a sort of car-wash like system that would let him roll through, receiving a wash and rinse and perhaps a wax job for his wheels.

"Tommy has a great attitude about everything," said Brady. "I think his outlook is surprising to most people, but it makes you want to help even more."

One of Brady's goals through Adopt-A-Soldier Now is to find the people willing to help and establish local networks that help support the soldiers and their families. Greg Smith and Ed Morvant are two of the members of Tommy's support team, and the Guinns have already received a benefit from the Overton VFW in addition to Troup's event, and Smith is spearheading a fund-raising trail ride to be held near Bullard next weekend.

"We are so appreciative of the wonderful people who are helping us, but we feel guilty at times because we know there are so many people who are worse off than we are and need the assistance more," said Bobbie.

The Guinns are true to their word in that respect; they stepped aside from a chance to have ABC's Extreme Makeover - Home Edition help them with a home when another family had a greater need.

"For them to do that indicates the kind of people you're dealing with," said Brady, whose group worked with the Westbrook family of Lawton, Okla., for the Extreme Makeover spot. When their home was built in February, the Guinns were on hand to lend their support and meet their new friends.

Gene Westbrook volunteered to train soldiers in Iraq in 2004 and was injured by a mortar round which severed his spinal cord, leaving him permanently paralyzed. In 2006, he and his wife and children were injured in a automobile accident when a wheel on their handicapped-accessible van came off. The van went over a culvert and down a 20' drop.

The accident led to daughter Katie having a kidney removed, and 9-year-old son James needing a colostomy and becoming paralyzed from the waist down. Although Adopt-A-Soldier was already working with the Guinns, the extraordinary circumstances of the Westbrooks were compelling. With the help of Brady's group and the people of Lawont, Okla., the Westbrook home was built in February and their Extreme Makeover episode will air on ABC April 15.

"When we learned of the Westbrooks, it was not a hard decision to have them go first; they needed it so much more than we do," said Bobbie.

"The people of Lawton, Okla., are just fantastic. They remind me of the people here in East Texas: when they have a family in need they all come together to help."