Jim Stem
Home for the Holidays
Mercedes Homes Helps A Family With Special-Needs Children.
Nancy Glessner fell in love with Marcus when she first saw the irrepressible toddler lying on his belly on the floor of a foster home in Kissimmee, his chin propped in his hands as he watched a Barney video.
Every few minutes, he would turn to flash a goofy grin.
Glessner and her husband, Steve Childs, had come to check on 17-month-old Nina, the baby they were preparing to adopt. But when they saw Marcus, they knew he would also be a part of their family.? As soon as the youngster turned 3, they brought him home.
Today, Marcus is 15, Nina is 14 and Glessner (the couple since divorced amicably and share custody) raises them in a pleasant middle-class Crystal River neighborhood.
Both children have cerebral palsy, and over the years their wheelchairs have caused plenty of wear and tear on the home. Repairs were always second priority for Glessner, a teacher on a tight budget. Until, that is, Mercedes Homes brought them Christmas early.
Mercedes had just participated in an edition of ABC’s popular Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Orlando. Following that project, the company’s West Central Florida division contacted Glessner, whose friends had previously submitted a tape to ABC on her behalf.
Although Glessner was thrilled, she had no idea at the extent to which her home would be renovated. “I was excited that they were going to widen doors and push the wall back in Marcus’ room,” she says.
By the time the project was completed, Glessner had wider doorways to facilitate the children’s wheelchairs, wooden laminate floors, Formica walls to prevent scratches, a new roof and a newly landscaped garden.
“You can’t be around Nina and Marcus without appreciating what they go through on a daily basis,” says Mike Robertson, vice president of construction for the West Central Florida division of Mercedes Homes. “But I want to make clear that we’re not doing this from an economic standpoint. Nancy is not living on the street and is not one paycheck away from being homeless.”
Instead, Robertson says, “this is more of a way of saying that you’re in an extraordinary situation and we’d like to help, and make that situation more bearable for you and the kids.”
Bringing baby home
Glessner and Childs adopted Nina from her sister’s daughter. She had undergone an apparently normal pregnancy, but complications during a protracted labor resulted in Nina being born not breathing.
The baby had a grand mal seizure while being resuscitated, and still suffers from a seizure disorder along with cerebral palsy. A few months later, she was placed in a foster home.
When Glessner’s sister asked if Glessner and Childs would adopt the baby, the couple discussed it with church members, researched cerebral palsy and talked for hours before making their decision.
“We decided that this was what was meant to be for us,” Glessner says.
At the time, Nina was angry, scowled often and didn’t smile. But that changed within two weeks as she grew accustomed to life with loving new parents. They met Marcus in the same foster home.
With all four limbs and trunk affected by cerebral palsy, Marcus operates a power chair, although he can hop on his knees if he has to. He can talk (although it may be difficult for some to understand him), feed himself and read and write on a computer at second-grade level.
Nina is more severely afflicted; she can’t speak legibly but is learning to communicate with other devices. She has no control of her hands and head and can’t use her power chair by herself. She’s fed through a tube with a special diet for her seizure disorder.
Glessner is quick to say that she likes the home she and her ex-husband had built in 1994. “It’s a nice house, and it did me fine,” she notes.
But disrepair was inevitable. Glessner had considered saving for a few years to fix things up but other priorities, such as a new hot-water heater, invariably arose.
Christmas comes early
Mike Robertson heard about Glessner through his wife and daughter, Glessner’s co-worker and former pupil, respectively. ?
He was intrigued at the idea of doing a smaller version of Extreme Makeover within the West Coast division. And he was gratified when his employees unanimously voted to use the funds for their annual Christmas party for the project.
After a month of planning, Mercedes Homes assembled 12 generous subcontractors. AAro Fencing, Banko, Collis Roofing, Color Wheel of Spring Hill, Constantino Paint, Gale Insulation, Gator Door, Lighting Gallery, Lou Hall Framing, Progressive Floors, Sun Dazed and Residential Drywall provided labor, roofing materials, paint supplies, laminate flooring, a new garage door, landscaping and framing services.
Within just one week, doors were widened and walls were moved to make corridors more navigable. Hazardously worn carpeting was replaced by a sturdy wood laminate in the children’s bedrooms, family room and hallway.
“Nancy and I talked about how to protect walls,” Robertson recalls. “We talked about sticking countertop material to the walls. First I thought it would look kind of dopey. But we glued it on, and it looks like faux finish. It holds up and looks unbelievable.”
From there, the team moved outdoors, replacing the landscaping with, low-maintenance shrubs. They replaced the garage door and reorganized the space, hung new front and back doors and installed a new roof.
The home’s backyard opens up onto a street, so the Mercedes team also put in a fence to block out noise.
As a final touch, the team donated two computers and custom desks the wheelchairs can slide under. Then, after meeting with the children’s special needs teachers, they downloaded the hardware and software needed to operate the computers.
The Glessner family celebrated with Mercedes’ employees at their holiday party.
“It was neat for everybody,” says Robertson. “A lot of these guys work in new construction framing a house and never see the people who live in the houses they help to build. This was a chance for them to see the smiles they put on people’s faces.”
Glessner marvels at how uplifting the makeover was.
“You can understand people you don’t know sacrificing things for themselves and doing things for you,” she says, “but this—in one word, it’s overwhelming.”?
Every few minutes, he would turn to flash a goofy grin.
Glessner and her husband, Steve Childs, had come to check on 17-month-old Nina, the baby they were preparing to adopt. But when they saw Marcus, they knew he would also be a part of their family.? As soon as the youngster turned 3, they brought him home.
Today, Marcus is 15, Nina is 14 and Glessner (the couple since divorced amicably and share custody) raises them in a pleasant middle-class Crystal River neighborhood.
Both children have cerebral palsy, and over the years their wheelchairs have caused plenty of wear and tear on the home. Repairs were always second priority for Glessner, a teacher on a tight budget. Until, that is, Mercedes Homes brought them Christmas early.
Mercedes had just participated in an edition of ABC’s popular Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Orlando. Following that project, the company’s West Central Florida division contacted Glessner, whose friends had previously submitted a tape to ABC on her behalf.
Although Glessner was thrilled, she had no idea at the extent to which her home would be renovated. “I was excited that they were going to widen doors and push the wall back in Marcus’ room,” she says.
By the time the project was completed, Glessner had wider doorways to facilitate the children’s wheelchairs, wooden laminate floors, Formica walls to prevent scratches, a new roof and a newly landscaped garden.
“You can’t be around Nina and Marcus without appreciating what they go through on a daily basis,” says Mike Robertson, vice president of construction for the West Central Florida division of Mercedes Homes. “But I want to make clear that we’re not doing this from an economic standpoint. Nancy is not living on the street and is not one paycheck away from being homeless.”
Instead, Robertson says, “this is more of a way of saying that you’re in an extraordinary situation and we’d like to help, and make that situation more bearable for you and the kids.”
Bringing baby home
Glessner and Childs adopted Nina from her sister’s daughter. She had undergone an apparently normal pregnancy, but complications during a protracted labor resulted in Nina being born not breathing.
The baby had a grand mal seizure while being resuscitated, and still suffers from a seizure disorder along with cerebral palsy. A few months later, she was placed in a foster home.
When Glessner’s sister asked if Glessner and Childs would adopt the baby, the couple discussed it with church members, researched cerebral palsy and talked for hours before making their decision.
“We decided that this was what was meant to be for us,” Glessner says.
At the time, Nina was angry, scowled often and didn’t smile. But that changed within two weeks as she grew accustomed to life with loving new parents. They met Marcus in the same foster home.
With all four limbs and trunk affected by cerebral palsy, Marcus operates a power chair, although he can hop on his knees if he has to. He can talk (although it may be difficult for some to understand him), feed himself and read and write on a computer at second-grade level.
Nina is more severely afflicted; she can’t speak legibly but is learning to communicate with other devices. She has no control of her hands and head and can’t use her power chair by herself. She’s fed through a tube with a special diet for her seizure disorder.
Glessner is quick to say that she likes the home she and her ex-husband had built in 1994. “It’s a nice house, and it did me fine,” she notes.
But disrepair was inevitable. Glessner had considered saving for a few years to fix things up but other priorities, such as a new hot-water heater, invariably arose.
Christmas comes early
Mike Robertson heard about Glessner through his wife and daughter, Glessner’s co-worker and former pupil, respectively. ?
He was intrigued at the idea of doing a smaller version of Extreme Makeover within the West Coast division. And he was gratified when his employees unanimously voted to use the funds for their annual Christmas party for the project.
After a month of planning, Mercedes Homes assembled 12 generous subcontractors. AAro Fencing, Banko, Collis Roofing, Color Wheel of Spring Hill, Constantino Paint, Gale Insulation, Gator Door, Lighting Gallery, Lou Hall Framing, Progressive Floors, Sun Dazed and Residential Drywall provided labor, roofing materials, paint supplies, laminate flooring, a new garage door, landscaping and framing services.
Within just one week, doors were widened and walls were moved to make corridors more navigable. Hazardously worn carpeting was replaced by a sturdy wood laminate in the children’s bedrooms, family room and hallway.
“Nancy and I talked about how to protect walls,” Robertson recalls. “We talked about sticking countertop material to the walls. First I thought it would look kind of dopey. But we glued it on, and it looks like faux finish. It holds up and looks unbelievable.”
From there, the team moved outdoors, replacing the landscaping with, low-maintenance shrubs. They replaced the garage door and reorganized the space, hung new front and back doors and installed a new roof.
The home’s backyard opens up onto a street, so the Mercedes team also put in a fence to block out noise.
As a final touch, the team donated two computers and custom desks the wheelchairs can slide under. Then, after meeting with the children’s special needs teachers, they downloaded the hardware and software needed to operate the computers.
The Glessner family celebrated with Mercedes’ employees at their holiday party.
“It was neat for everybody,” says Robertson. “A lot of these guys work in new construction framing a house and never see the people who live in the houses they help to build. This was a chance for them to see the smiles they put on people’s faces.”
Glessner marvels at how uplifting the makeover was.
“You can understand people you don’t know sacrificing things for themselves and doing things for you,” she says, “but this—in one word, it’s overwhelming.”?