Volunteers Build New Home For Disabled L.I. Teen
CENTERPORT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island family moved into their new energy-efficient and wheelchair-accessible home on Wednesday.
Volunteers with the Building Hope for Long Island Foundation spent five months building a new home in Centerport for Gloria Thompson and her disabled son Dylan.
"It's just going to be more comfortable for me and it's going to make life a lot easier," 19-year-old Dylan told 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera.
Volunteers Build New Home For Disabled L.I. Teen
Dylan, who was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at age 5, said it was a nightmare trying to get around in his wheelchair at his old Mayflower Court house.
"It's very tight and not handicapped accessible," Dylan said during an interview in April. "There's not a lot of room for me to move around."
Dylan told CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan that he was amazed at the effort undertaken by hundreds of helpers who can from far and wide after hearing about his plight on Facebook.
"I can't believe they would build a whole house for me," he said.
The new home has wider hallways, a handicap-accessible bathroom, and a specially-designed bedroom to accommodate Dylan.
"It's beautiful, it's nice and spacious, the halls are wide and I love it. I'm just so excited. I cannot believe that this is happening to us," Gloria Thompson said. "Moving in today is going to make life so incredibly easy."
Dylan's medical future remains uncertain but he said that they volunteer movement touched him in a way that will stay with him forever.
The Thompsons are the second family to get a new home from the Building Hope for Long Island Foundation.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories:
