Lowe's Home Improvement and Modification Grant Works Wonders for Patient with ALS

Sink Before and After

Shower Before and After

By Derek Levandowski

Jane Reid, who lives near Charlotte, is just 58 years old and has been living with ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease for over two years.  She is a mother of three and was diagnosed while her youngest child was in high school.  For the Reid family, the diagnosis was devastating.

“My wife was diagnosed in 2006,” explained Wayne Reid, Jane’s Husband “and as her disease progressed she had difficulty with bathing and getting to a place where she could easily wash her hands. Our house is 20 years old and was not handicap friendly. We had no money available for a bathroom conversion from a tub to a roll-in shower until we submitted a grant application in December 2008.”

In early 2009, that application was approved in the amount of $3,000 and, with the help of caring individuals, the Reid family put it to good use.

“With the help of the Jim “Catfish” Hunter Association, Lowe’s and a host of volunteers, we completed the project in four days,” said Mr. Reid. “Jane can now safely roll into the shower, under the lavatory and has a new handicap toilet with hand rails totally accessible to her.”

There were a total of ten $3,000 grants awarded in March of 2009 to qualifying families affected by ALS in North Carolina.  These grants were made possible thanks to a $30,000 donation from the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation.  “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Lowe’s for recognizing this need and stepping up to the plate,” said Jerry Dawson, President of the ALS Association’s Jim “Catfish” Hunter Chapter “without their generosity the Lowe’s Home Modification Program would not have been possible and these needs would have gone unmet.”  It is unclear at this point whether or not the program will be repeated again for 2010 but Chapter representatives are hopeful.  

ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive motor neuron disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.  As patients progress through stages of the disease, performing even the most routine physical tasks can become more difficult as the patient loses the ability to control their muscles. In most cases, a person with ALS will need to have their home modified to allow for wheelchairs and other assistive devices to be used.  The Lowe’s Home Modification Grant was designed to help those with ALS make needed modifications to their homes which enhances their quality of life.

There is no known cause for ALS, and there is no cure.  ALS affects approximately one in 800 men and one in 1200 women.  It is estimated that there are as many as 700 people in North Carolina currently living with ALS, and about 30,000 Americans who currently are living with the disease in the United States.