Project Mend-A-House assists special needs child

Most 6-year-old girls don't have to work very hard to come up with reasons for not brushing their teeth before they go to sleep every night.

But Malinda May had her own unique reason for not brushing her teeth -- she could not get to her toothbrush or toothpaste by herself because she simply could not move her wheelchair past the bathroom door.

Malinda's left foot is amputated, she uses breathing and feeding tubes, and relies on a wheelchair for accessibility. Every day, her parents have to assist her with showering, going to the bathroom and brushing her teeth -- because her bathroom and bedroom were not configured wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs.

Lacking the resources to upgrade their Dale City home, the Mays turned to Project Mend-A-House for help. Their call for help was answered by project coordinator Bill Okuly, lead volunteer Scott Sells and four other Project Mend-A-House volunteers -- Brian Henkel, Dean Quick, Robin Bayles and Ray Stuckey.

The team first focused their attention and formidable energy on providing Malinda with access into her bedroom. They did so by removing the existing bedroom door and about eight feet of the wall that separated her bedroom from the adjoining hallway.

This created about a 10-foot opening into Malinda's bedroom -- more than enough room for Malinda to maneuver into and out of her bedroom by herself. The team installed a new pocket sliding door at the entrance of the hallway leading to Malinda's bedroom and bathroom that provided her with the necessary privacy and easy access.

The volunteers then replaced the existing standard 24-inch bathroom door and widened the opening into the bathroom to accommodate a 32-inch wheelchair-accessible door. They replaced the existing tub with an accessible shower tray and ramp, providing Malinda with the ability to navigate her wheelchair directly into the shower.

They replaced the existing water closet and outfitted Malinda's new water closet with hand rails on either side to provide her with access and to serve as arm rests.

And, finally, the Project Mend-A-House team replaced Malinda's sink and a vanity, which actually inhibited access to the sink, with a pedestal sink and a tray to hold her toothpaste and toothbrush.

Now Malinda can roll her wheelchair under the sink, making routine tasks much easier to complete.

"What Scott and our priceless Project Mend-A-House volunteers did was give a very special girl the same opportunity that most other 6-year old children have," stated Andrea Saccoccia, Project Mend-A-House executive director.

-- Submitted by Andrea Saccoccia