Divergent groups and individuals rally around one family’s needs

What started in January 2006 as an effort to convince a 56-year old Coweta County woman to see a doctor about her abdominal pains has turned into a textbook example of how people helping people can make life-changing differences in this world.

The effort has rallied an eclectic group of good Samaritans and developed into an ongoing health crusade and a complete home renovation.

Flo (real name withheld for privacy) had been experiencing debilitating abdominal pains for nearly two years. Being of the old school of thought, she never complained to anyone and continued doing what she had done for nearly 30 years: cleaning houses for people in Fayette and Coweta counties. It is how she took care of her two sons, her 58-year old mentally handicapped sister, her mother, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Flo had always been the one who took care of others.

Finally, in September 2005 the pain was so great that it hampered her ability to work. One of her customers noticed her pain and offered to pay for Flo to have a colonoscopy, to which Flo reluctantly agreed in January 2006. The test quickly led to a diagnosis of stage T3 rectal cancer. Suddenly, the caregiver was the one in need of care.

Enter a cast of individuals and organizations motivated by a common desire to help; especially Flo’s clients, who considered her a dear friend. She has always been there for them with words of wisdom, support and great stories.

A small group of volunteers got the ball rolling. Flo had no medical insurance, so the first action was to get an oncologist to see her. One of the volunteers, Peachtree City resident Ellen Gaddo, started making phone calls and connected with an especially helpful social worker at Amos Cancer Center in Columbus, Ga.

“Ms. Johnson was very sensitive and caring,” said Gaddo, who became Flo’s patient advocate. “She took the information she needed and got it to an oncologist, who agreed to see Flo without delay.”

The oncologist set up an appointment with a radiation oncologist at the Amos Cancer Center. After all the labs and testing were complete, Flo would need daily chemo-radiation treatments, Monday through Friday, for 38 treatments to shrink the large tumor before surgery.

To accomplish this, volunteers including Susan Moore, Cindy and Phil Carson, Jan Hudson and Ellen Gaddo, all from Peachtree City, and Eddie, a friend of Flo’s, developed a schedule where they would take turns transporting Flo to Columbus. Flo’s son, a Newnan resident and Coweta County mail carrier, took his mother when he could, but could not take off work every day. Flo and her dependents are living with her son during the entire time of her treatments. Flo’s son, who left a ten-year Navy career to be near his mother, is basically the only source of income and has to work all the extra hours he can to support the family.

About this time, members of the Community Christian Church in Sharpsburg heard about the effort and one of their many fellowship groups offered to clean up the yard of Flo’s Coweta County home. During the cleanup, Gaddo peaked into the windows of the unoccupied 1,500 square-foot home and noted that it also appeared to need cleaning. When she got a key from Flo’s son and got inside, it was obvious it needed much more than just cleaning.

“There was major smoke damage from a faulty wood stove Flo used because she couldn’t afford propane,” Gaddo said. The walls, ceilings and furniture were totally saturated with soot and the smell of smoke. There was also significant floor damage caused by unchecked water leaks in the kitchen and bathroom leaving rotted and moldy floors.

“We couldn’t let her move back into such an unhealthy environment,” Gaddo noted. So, after having several construction specialists look at the home, the consensus was that the only way to solve the problem was to empty the home and gut it down to the studs and floor joists.

Community Christian Church again came to the rescue and formed a demolition crew who came in on a Saturday and completely emptied the home, filling two large construction dumpsters from Pollard Construction Disposal of Senoia. Some salvageable furniture was sent to storage. The Lion’s Den of Turin, Ga. has kept the work site equipped with portable toilets throughout the ongoing reconstruction. The group, augmented by other volunteers, then began to strip the drywall off, filling more dumpsters.

During the demolition, young men from A Better Way Ministry offered their energetic demolition labor and in two whirlwind sessions completed the demo portion of the project.

In the meantime, Flo’s tumor had shrunk enough from treatments to set up her surgery. A large tumor was successfully removed in May and she had a temporary ileostomy while the wounds healed. After five more months of post-surgical chemotherapy, the reversal surgery was performed in October to reconnect her natural systems.

Before the home demolition had even started though, fundraising had already begun. Initial estimates established a cost of about $40,000 to renovate the interior of the home.

Additionally, it would need complete re-wiring and re-plumbing to bring it to code. Other needs included a new total electric heating and air conditioning system, insulation, new thermal windows and doors, a new roof and a few re-designs to better use space and make it more useful to its occupants when they returned.

“We knew we were looking at major fundraising,” said Gaddo, who early in the project had assumed a lead role in coordinating the resources needed to get Flo back to good health and get her home back in shape for her and her family to return.

“Our goal was to get her back into a healthy home by Christmas,” Gaddo emphasized.

By word of mouth and through networking, a team formed and resources began to find their way to the effort.

Someone told Gaddo about Square Foot Ministry (SFM), a church-based non-profit organization based in Fayette County, which provides resources for such projects. Gaddo and her husband, Randy, made a formal presentation to the SFM board members, who agreed to collaborate on the project. This gave the team the tax-exempt status needed to make donations tax deductible. Doug Higgins, a SFM founder and board member who works for America’s Home Place, also volunteered to act as a liaison to assist with development of a plan. He provided an initial cost estimate and ideas on how to proceed.

Early in the process, Gaddo had worked with Debra Smith from Chamberlin Edmonds to get Flo’s medical needs funded. Chamberlin Edmonds is an Atlanta-based company that contracts with hospitals to help patients find resources for their treatment needs, and never charges the patient for their services.

In addition, Gaddo discovered that Flo’s homeowner’s insurance was current and contacted the insurance company about a claim for the water and smoke damage. The company came through with a reasonable settlement.

Unfortunately, Flo did not qualify for Social Security Disability but she applied for SSI and was denied the first try. The Fayetteville Law Firm of Rogers, Hofrichter & Karrah, P.C. is assisting Flo with her SSI appeal.

A generous anonymous donor gave $5,000 and promised another $5,000 if it was matched with funds from other donors. The match was met and $15,000 was added to the war chest.

The match was made possible in part by a $1,000 donation from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. This is a faith-based membership organization called to improve the quality of life of its members, their families, and their communities by providing solutions that focus on financial security, wellness and caring for others. The Gaddo’s are members of Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church in Peachtree City.

In addition, a grant, approved by Coweta-Fayette EMC Operation Round Up, donated $3,500 towards a new heating and air system. Founded in 1993, the program offers Coweta-Fayette EMC members the opportunity to literally “round up” their bill to the next highest dollar, with the difference being contributed to a fund, which is awarded to various individuals and organizations in need.

Other business that have helped in the renovation process are Community Action for Improvement, Inc., of LaGrange, Ga., which provided new insulation for the home; Leslie Contracting Inc. of Fayetteville generously agreed to provide early construction work needed to make the house safe for volunteers and offered to provide most of the wood and construction materials for the project. They also provided guidance on some aspects of the reconstruction; Leo A Daly, a prominent international architectural firm with a branch office in Atlanta, provided preliminary architectural drawings of the renovations, which enabled the team to show contractors what they had in mind. Staff from the local office also volunteered to help with demolition.

Friends and church members donated another $3,450, which brought the total to a little more than $27,000 - not the goal but enough to get the project started. Miles Construction of Fayetteville was hired to begin reconstruction. Operating on faith that resources would come when needed, the Gaddo’s and contractor John Miles agreed to work through the project one-step at a time.

While the project has made steady progress there is still work to be done and money needed to be raised. At press time, the home’s new roof is on, new sub-flooring is complete, the interior framing is complete, the HVAC is 90% complete and work is quickly progressing on all new electrical and plumbing systems. As work has progressed, other needs have been identified.

“We need interior paint donated,” said Ellen Gaddo. “We also need some new appliances. We are decorating using black and steel appliances and need a new refrigerator, an oven with glass cooking top and a microwave with a vent hood.

“The entrance driveway is broken and hazardous,” she continued. “It is a major concern. We need to find someone who will break up the existing drive and remove it from the site, reform a new one that will go to the back of the house with a handicapped ramp and pour the cement.”

She said that the pump house for the well, which is the home’s water source, needs to be repaired and insulated to be brought up to code. “Tim Davis of Dixie Well did a great job replacing the pump and other parts to get the well working properly. He was very generous,” said Gaddo. “We are working with Floor Coverings International of Peachtree City on a Karndean floor product that would be perfect for this family.

“And we’d like to get a good new or used riding lawn mower with gardening and tilling attachments, because Flo and her sister like to grow their own vegetables,” Gaddo added.

As we enter a new year, Gaddo is confident that resources will appear. “This has been a ‘God thing’ right from the start,” she emphasized. “So far, when we’ve needed something, it has appeared. We’re doing this for all the right reasons and our team is confident that Flo and her family will be celebrating the New Year in their expertly restored home.”

Anyone interested in becoming part of this team effort, whether through a tax-deductible financial donation or any other means, can contact Ellen Gaddo at 770-631-4074 or rgaddo@comcast.net. Those interested in making a 501-c3 taxable donation may do so by sending a check to Square Foot Ministry,  C/o job # 105106-2, P.O. Box 371, Fayetteville, GA 30214.

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