Community Helps Renovate Home For 9-Year-Old Paralyzed After Crash
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (CBS4)- A community is coming together to help a boy who was paralyzed after a car crash. Generous people have stepped up to make sure a young boy could access his house, without costing them tens of thousands of dollars.
In December of 2017, 9-year-old Jace Garcia was in a bad car accident in Castle Rock.
"My sister was driving me to basketball practice and hit gravel and she went into the other lane," Garcia explained. "I didn't remember any of it."
Garcia was first taken to Sky Ridge Medical Center, then moved to Children's Hospital. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
The accident meant Garcia was confined to a wheelchair. His family said he's spent the past few months working to overcome numerous hurdles. Some, in his own home.
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"He wasn't able to access the bathroom at all because the doors weren't wide enough," his mother explained.
They family reached out to The Home Builder's Foundation, whose mission is to build independence, provide opportunities and elevate lives for individuals and families with disabilities in the community. They teamed up with KB Homes, and renovated Garcia's house.
"It's all about community," said Beth Forbes, with Home Builders Foundation. "To see it come full circle and see the relief this family is now facing is so important."
The two companies teamed up to provide thousands of dollars' worth of renovations to the home. It included widening doors, building a new ramp and installing hardwood floors to make sure Garcia can get around.
"Ever since Jace was little he's been super independent and this was really tough for him," his mother and step-father explained. "Even rolling on the carpet he would get stuck. And now it's back to independence all over again which is nice."
While the changes may seem small, for Garcia, it means he can focus on being a kid again.
"I just want to say thank you for all the work you did and I really appreciate it," he said.
Makenzie O'Keefe joined the CBS4 team as a reporter in 2017. Read her bio, connect with her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter at @makenziepokeefe or email her your story ideas.