Mrs. D Family

Mrs. D is 45 years old and her husband, Mr. Y, is 46. They have three children, Chris, age 16, Desiree, age 9 and Summer, age 7. Mrs. D's mother, an Alzheimer's patient, owns the house, but hasn't been able to live there because of the repairs needed in the home. Mrs.D is trying to get the repairs completed so that her family can live more safely, the home can be insured again, and so her mother can also live in the house.

Mrs.D is a native Californian and an only child. When Mrs.D was young, she was Cinderella in the Disneyland Electrical parade. Today, Mrs.D suffers from cardiomyopathy, asthma, morbid obesity, curvature of the spine, and degenerative arthritis in both knees and diabetes. She is a survivor of breast cancer.

Unfortunately, in spite of all of Mrs.D's medical problems, she is the head of the household. In 1998, Mr.Y fell off a ladder onto a concrete sidewalk, suffering brain damage. His speech is slow and his demeanor is at times unpredictable. Prior to Mr.Y's accident, he worked as a drafting designer. He and Mrs.D used to make a good living for their family. Today, they live on about $1600 a month plus food stamps.

Last year, Rebuilding Together volunteers cleaned out at least two dumpsters of debris from the family's backyard and garage. They also built a shed for additional storage. Members of Mrs.D's church installed a heater for the family this past year. The house exterior is currently being painted because Mrs.D and her mother took out a loan. The family still desperately needs to have holes in the ceiling fixed, the upstairs bathroom floor stabilized and repaired, electrical wiring repaired, grab bars, hand-held shower and a handicapped toilet installed for Mrs.D.

Mrs.D has a good sense of humor and turns to her faith when the going gets tough. Times are especially tough right now. Mr.Y accidentally cut off his finger last week (week of 2/4/02) and went into a mental hospital for a week. He is threatening to leave the family and go into a board and care facility. Mrs.D has been told that she will lose most of her financial support for her and the children if Mr.Y leaves.