We were just informed this week that we are required to build a ramp for our son's wheelchair.  Up until now we have carried him down the steps and put him in his wheelchair and the reverse on returning home.  Do you have any readers who can give us any information on where to start?  We are not carpenters and I have found out that there are certain codes, etc. needed....so any help will be appreciated. Deborah in Tennessee

Nita's Note: Go to the bottom of the page and read from the beginning to see the progress as wonderful things take shape. I had done a lengthy search of the Internet and found that there are city and state regulations but most don't have such for residential installations. There were sites with fold out ready-made aluminum contraptions that were most expensive. Deborah had a lot more resources that she thought possible. She did all the work and now deserves the praise. We wish Deborah the very best. She is such a wonderful caring person. If you have good ideas, send me an email please. Nita
04-14-04 Update

We do not have our ramp yet but the weather has been freaky for this time of the year.  It has rained more than usual and then yesterday morning we had an ice storm and yesterday afternoon it snowed for 3 or 4 hours.  And in order to build the foundation they have to have at least 3 good warm DRY days.  Patience is a virtue???  ;-)

 
We have a new Physical Therapist as of last week and she is a real go getter when it comes to helping families get what they need...so I am waiting for all good things to come to us that wait. Thank you for caring and for asking! I will try to keep you updated when things do start moving again!  Please Thank Uncle Mert for his suggestion---we may do that off the back deck. My Dad has decided to build a swing for our little man that will hold him and his wheelchair. It will also have a seat for his sister so she can swing with him and they can listen to music or read a book!!! So we will need to be able to get him to the backyard.

 

03-26-04 Update:

We have total funding for the ramp as of yesterday!  I go next week to pick up materials.  My Little Man and I ventured out yesterday...he had never been to his school so we went by there after a trip to the store to get his bath seat!  His teacher came out to see him in his van and then she went and got his classmates.  They have seen pictures of him and made him cards and letters but had never met him.  They were excited and so was he!  It was an awesome day for the Little Guy and this morning he is actually sleeping in.

03-26-04 This was received from a reader: Contact your local ARC to see about a wheelchair ramp.  Ours will pay for the materials to build one and has members who are handy with designing and building.  Other organizations to try would be Habitat for Humanity, perhaps one of their members could take on the project.  Or, check with any local charity organizations (like Jaycees or Kiwanis) or churches, even builder’s associations.

 
03-16-04 Update

When a couple (in the construction & repair business) came out to fix the squeaks in the floor, we talked about our needing a ramp for our little man's wheelchair. They had seen many people needing a ramp at their home and had built several. When they finished their work, my husband and I asked them for an estimate. They took measurements and came back later to let me know they would do the project for the cost of materials and give us their labor for free.

Pacesetters is talking to us about helping with the wheelchair lift for the van. 

I am in Awe!!! Deborah in Tennessee    

03-15-04 Update

The neatest thing happened Saturday...I ran to the store to check on hummingbird feeders (we put ours up April 1st and one of mine got broken last season) and I happened to be in a traffic jam inside the store.  While I was waiting for it to move I glanced down the camping aisle...I do not do camping so this in itself was strange. Any way some thing caught my eye...they are seats with mesh bottoms, and I got to looking and they are the exact size I need for my little fellow for a BATH SEAT!!!  I am so excited... And I forgot all about my poor hummers in the process but we have our bath seat!!! 

I heard this morning about the Access America and the wheelchair ramp. The man says that there is a 22 ramp waiting list but not to give up on him. I have a feeling we will have to do something before they can get to us.
 
 
I contacted  my friend that told me about PhancyPages and she had an excellent idea and she is going to help me make covers out of the material that sailboat sails are made of and use a special new talent she has learned to make holes along the edges of the material   (grommets) so it can be laced around the frame but can be easily removed to wash and hang to dry!!! So I think we have conquered the bath seat problem!!!
 
Now, this week I have played phone and email tag with a man who is in charge of making life easier for handicapped people in our area.  He comes highly recommended so I figure his life is very stressed.  So while I was cooking lunch today I looked at the local paper.  And by chance called the Chamber of Commerce. I got a hold of a very nice lady who gave me the names and numbers of three local carpenters who are going to come out and give us estimates!!! Nita, this is so fun and what a journey. I am sure that I would never have gotten started without your jumpstart and now my child's life is going to be so much better and so is mine and my husbands (physically).
 
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I wanted to share with you what I did yesterday.  Our little man is getting hard to manage in the bathtub. And I have been thinking about when I was teaching...there was a precious Grandfather of one of my students. He told me if I could draw it , he could build it...and I did and he did on several occasions.  We had one girl who probably weighed close to 200 pounds in a wheelchair unable to do anything for herself.  But when we would go outside she loved to watch the other children swing...I found in a catalogue a wheelchair swing and it ONLY cost $8,000.  I was starting to watch my dream for this child go down the drain when I happened to mention my need to a Mother.  She came back a few days later with her father...a retired engineer!!! I showed him the picture of what I would like and that is when he told me..you draw it and I can build it.

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I spent a couple of days planning, thinking and measuring and then I called him back out to the school.  He grinned and said "are there other children who would like to swing at the same time?"  I said yes. He told me he would see me in a few days.  In a week he was back with drawings and price for a large swing set that 3 wheelchair children could swing in at a time and all for only $200.00!!!  I told him to give me a few days to come up with the money and I went to the principle and the PTA.  We raised $350 in no time and over the fall and winter we watched as "Our Grandfather" built us a swing and planted grass and put in gravel.  Come Spring it was awesome to see not only that little girl but all the other children in our school who were in wheelchairs swing for the first time in their lives!!!!
Now, Nita I have not taught in public school in  11 years and until I talked to you I forgot I have it!!!
So yesterday, I drew a bathtub seat for my little man and took it to the hardware store here in town.  It was like the owner had been standing there waiting for a project to figure out!!! He asked if he could help me (I had never been in there before) and I told him yes sir. And explained to him what I need and that I have seen them for $400-$500 in catalogues.  He just shook his head and said come on.  He was like a racehorse out of the gates. And I, short legged and heavy,  was nearly running to keep up with him.  He said, "now I think you could use this," and "Let's try this" and we were all over that store.  When we got through he said "I think we can do this for less than $100. The only thing I do not have is the washable mesh for the seat and I do not know where to tell you to find that."  He said when I got ready to come back with the measurements and he will cut all the pieces to size for me!!! Now I am on a hunting trip for some type of material to cover the frame with that I can throw in the wash and we will have it!!!
This is turning out to be an awesome journey!!! Thank you again for renewing my Zeal!!
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And if it can help someone else that would make me happy...I will write with each new addition to our journey...my dream for our Little Man is that I can put him in his chair and roll him down the ramp and put him in the van and go to the park!  go visit his school (he is homebound because he is fragile medically)  but this could begin to open the world to him!!!
He loves to sit in his chair and look out the livingroom window...imagine what this could do for him!
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I just want to update you on our wheelchair ramp for our son...BECAUSE OF YOU...I have learned to ask everyone I know if they know any thing or any one...this has been an awesome lesson for me and it did not hurt!!!;-)  I started asking locals starting with his homebound teacher and she passed the word. It has gotten us leads galore and we may even have someone who will build it for just the price of materials who donates his time for people with special needs who are on low budgets like we are... Also a man in her church said he  is not a carpenter but he would sure like to help the "little guy" get his ramp  he will help with the cost of materials. SO thank you thank you thank you!!!