Lowe's Makes Vet's Home Handicap Accessible

Russell Hires, who's on the verge of losing his leg, will have one less thing to worry about as he becomes wheelchair-bound: How he'll get in and out of his formerly un-handicap accessible bathroom.

About 45 employees from area Lowe's home improvement stores chipped in roughly 800 man hours at Hires' Manor Road home in Hatboro this week to widen the bathroom and make it handicap capable, finish an attic space that can now double as a bedroom and add a half-bathroom, install new energy efficient doors, fix leaks, clean up mold and mildew, pull weeds, plant fresh flowers and more. 

The $20,000 to $25,000 in materials and labor were donated to Hires, a Vietnam War veteran, through the Lowe's Heroes program. Through the initiative, Lowe's stores company-wide donated between $1.2 million and $1.3 million in materials plus man hours on 1,300 projects last year, according to Lowe's Willow Grove Store Manager Joseph Hoffmann. 

Led by Hoffmann, employees from stores in Quakertown, Langhorne, Bensalem, northeast Philadelphia, Hatfield and Plymouth Meeting dropped in the Hires' home either before or after work to help paint, install drywall, power wash the siding, or spruce up the house. 

"It feels good for us," Hoffmann said during a tour of the ongoing renovations, which are expected to wrap up Friday evening. "The employees love doing it."

For Hires, 64, and his wife, Linda, who are staying with family while the work is being carried out, the improvements were more than they could have ever imagined - or afforded.

"A bunch of angles came down," Mr. Hires told Patch. "It just takes you back. You see this stuff on TV. I am so overwhelmed. Sometimes I cry."

Hires, who earned a silver star and purple heart from being "blown up a couple times" during his military service, was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2010, stemming from contact with Agent Orange. He's had a bone marrow transplant and, also a diabetic, Hires, like his mother and grandmother before him, is close to losing his leg. 

"It's heaven sent," he said of the renovations, which he and Linda will see Friday upon returning home. 

State Rep. Tom Murt (R-152), helped put Lowe's in touch with the Hires family.

"That's one of my legislative priorities is to take care of veterans," Murt said, while watching the improvements being made Thursday afternoon.