Published: June 24, 2009 10:23 am      

Volunteers install I-beam to help mother of disabled man

z Council on aging, church join efforts on project.

LAGRANGE — During the months of April and May, the LaGrange County Council on Aging assembled a group of volunteers to install an I-beam in the home of a LaGrange County senior citizen.

The need surfaced late last year when a senior client from the Council on Aging told David Clark, the chairman of the COA’s Aging in Place committee, about a challenge that she has. The client has a son who is a quadriplegic and weighs nearly 250 pounds. The client has a hoyer lift to assist getting her son in and out of a wheel chair. However the lift does not solve her problem of getting her son on and off the toilet and in and out of the bath tub.

David Clark discussed the issue with the Aging In Place Committee of the LaGrange County Council on Aging.

An idea surfaced to remove a wall in the client’s home and install a long I-beam. The beam will support an electric hoist which can easily be moved from one end of the house to the other. The challenge then became securing the necessary funds to obtain the materials needed.

The LaGrange Ministerial Association was contacted by Bill Cunningham, executive director of the LaGrange County Council on Aging. It was not long afterward that Cunningham received a call from the LaGrange Christian Fellowship. According to their pastor, Cory Happner, the church has a special Mission Café in which they raise money for special needs. Happner said the church would donate $300 for the special project. With that piece of information, the Aging In Place committee began its work.

Through the efforts of David Clark, a 26-foot beam was donated by Elkhart Metal Distributing Inc. With the arrival of the beam, a group of volunteers were assembled.

Sheriff Terry Martin arranged for a number of work release participants to assist with the project. The beam was installed and arranged so that there was a straight line from the bed to the toilet. The bathtub had to be relocated to line up with the beam.

Now with one hand on the controls, the senior client can lift her son and move him easily to an awaiting wheel chair, or to the toilet or in and out of the bathtub. A special device was made by volunteer Jim Haas to keep the pulley from catching. Members of the LaGrange Christian Fellowship are going to make a swivel and install it to the lift to make the device even more efficient.

According to Cunningham, “this project would not have been possible without the contribution from the LaGrange Christian Fellowship and the many volunteer hours. We owe special thanks to David Clark of Bath Express/D & T builders for his expertise, time and effort.