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HOUSTON, Texas - All she remembers is a loud bang, lots of dust,
then nothing but darkness before retired 10-year Navy veteran
Jennifer Penn woke up on a hospital bed in Kuwait. A small unknown
explosion from what she thinks was a pressure plated improvised
explosive device erupted underneath or near her armored vehicle
while transporting a patient in 2006. For Penn, the result was a
traumatic brain injury, nine ruptured discs down her spine and the
complete loss of her fine motor skills that help her do things like
aim a weapon or even button a shirt.
After several
surgeries, Penn left the Navy as a medically Hospital Corpsman 3rd
Class and 100 percent disabled. Although taken care of medically,
Penn's living arrangements have always been a struggle, caring for
herself and two children in homes not specially adapted for her
medical needs. Halls and doorways too narrow for her wheel chair or
walker to fit through, steep staircases, doors that open out causing
damage each time she needed to leave or enter a room and showers
that have no place for her to comfortably sit and bathe.
“It's always been a challenge,” said Penn who still suffers from
intense daily pain managed with a host of medications. “I work every
day toward being more and more independent but that's a slow
process. Takes time. During that time, what I've always needed was a
home that helped me ... a home that supported my needs.”
Understanding those needs was the national nonprofit organization
“Helping A Hero” who provided Penn with the answer – a new adapted
home that she could use to help broaden her independence.
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Disabled Navy veteran Jennifer Penn, left, listens as retired Army colonel and President/Executive Director of
Helping A Hero Jeff Ragland makes a simple repair to Penn's specially adapted closet door
on March 28, 2015. Helping A Hero is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to empowering wounded veterans – one home at a time – by providing specially adapted homes tailored to their disabilities. Since, 2006, the group has awarded 100 homes in 22 states with 35 homes currently under construction. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chris Fahey)
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Helping A Hero's goal is to empower wounded veterans –
one home at a time – by providing specially adapted homes
tailored to their disabilities. Since, 2006, the group has
awarded 100 homes in 22 states with 35 homes currently under
construction. These homes are typically 2400-2600 square
feet with an average worth of $200K-$250K awarded to 70
percent or greater disabled post 9/11 veterans as proven by
the Veterans Administration.
According to retired
Army Colonel and Helping A Hero's President/Executive
Director Jeff Ragland, the nonprofit's ability to help is
resource driven, and the pool of possible awardees is large,
so the selection criteria begins by evaluating the actual
“need” of the veteran.
“For instance, if you are in
a wheel chair like Jennifer, there are special
accommodations made allowing her to be as independent as
possible in a home that greatly enhances their overall
quality of life.”
For Penn, her home has done
exactly that. All areas were built under the exact
specifications she needs to be mobile and comfortable. Her
walkways, hallways and doorways are all spaced to allow room
for her wheelchair. Her doors and closets don't swing on
hinges but pull in and out from the wall. Her shower has a
place for her to sit or stand allowing her the option to
choose how she bathes. All entrances are wheelchair
accessible. Inside her walls, there are added forms of wood
and other customized constructions that allow her to make
future modifications adjusted to her rehabilitation. As she
becomes more independent and less reliant on her wheelchair,
her home can be easily modified to adjust with her.
“I had a huge home before this one ... around 3,400 square
feet, but I couldn't move around. There was a side panel
that I smashed each time trying to go in and out of this one
room,” said Penn.
Those kinds of daily frustrations
can often make dealing with disabilities difficult and
translate into added labors when trying to adjust to their
communities and responsibilities. Each time Penn would knock
into a side panel of a narrow door, she would feel more
pain. That pain would affect her attitude possibly making
her less likely to travel out into the community and
interact or require more medication.
“It's that
right there that we are also here to help with,” said
Ragland. “Helping A Hero understands these difficulties and
solving those problems can start with the home, but not just
by receiving a free house. Veterans don't usually want a
handout; they want a hand up.”
Each veteran is
obligated to pay a mortgage on the home of usually
approximately $50K and live in the home for at least 10
years.
“The 10 year obligation and mortgage is to
help them with stability and getting back into the
community,” said Ragland. “After the 10 years and the $50K,
they own the home and can do what they need to have a
successful life.”
This success is seen through Penn,
as she travels across her living room, kitchen, out her door
and into the backyard – smiling – nothing intruding her path
or causing added obstructions. She joins her daughter and
volunteers from Helping A Hero to help stain her fence. A
task Ragland said is all part of the deal.
“The
military is a family, and we bring that to the program,” he
said. “We help make sure we consistently come out and help
with all the stuff that yes, the home warranty could handle
but it's easier for us to just come out, do the job and see
our veteran. Something we enjoy.”
Learn more about
Helping A Hero.
By U.S. Navy MCS1 Chris Fahey
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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