JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A disabled Army veteran was confined to his home until a Jacksonville nonprofit built a ramp for him.
Ron White, SFC, U.S. Army, couldn’t do simple things like get the morning paper or go to the mailbox.
“I couldn’t get out of the house,” White said.
Knee problems left him unable to walk and in a wheelchair. He couldn’t leave his home, go to doctor’s appointments, but did what he could to help out his wife.
“I try to help around the house, I cook some, I clean some, I do the dishes every night. I feed the animals twice a day, in the morning and evening. That’s my job,” White said.
talked about how he felt when the ramp was finished.
“I thank God every day that they did this, and that’s basically my life before they built the ramp. The first day I came down and I was in tears and thanking them so much. I thanked everyone personally. I said you have changed my entire life and that’s what happened,” White said. “I call it my ramp and I’m pleased that I’m so blessed that I have it.”
White said he couldn’t leave his home for six months until the ramp was built. A Navy veteran friend advised him to contact the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization to request a ramp to be built for him.
Someone contacted Builders Care, a faith-based nonprofit dedicated to critical home repair and providing handicap accessibility. Volunteers came to his home and built the ramp in less than five days.
White is getting more assistance through the Veterans Affairs office.
“They’re giving me a new hospital bed, a shower bench, a shower. They’re giving me all kinds of things that I never dreamed of having, that I can go bathe. I had to take sponge baths before, so I couldn’t get into the bathroom,” White said.
He said organizations like VFW aren’t just making a difference in the community.
“Make a difference in the world,” White said. “They are super special. I hope other people have contacted them, really after this interview, they go and talk to the boss.”
