Thursday, August 22, 2013

Bathroom addition helps Cedarburg family battling cancer


Scott and Kelly bought their Cedarburg home in 2007. Scott works for an area power company and Kelly is a teacher at a nearby school. They are parents to a wonderful son. Kelly was diagnosed with cancer shortly after they purchased their home. A few long years of battling with this cancer has taken its toll on Kelly's physical well-being; to the point at which a single stair has become a mountain for Kelly.

The family's home is a quaint two-story that was originally built in the late 1800's. The first floor of the house is a wonderful public space with the kitchen on one half and a spacious living room on the other. However, there is no bathroom on the first floor. For Kelly, this became a serious problem.

Scott and Kelly had traveled down every avenue they could think of to somehow get a bathroom on the first floor. Every approach was a dead end. The couple did not give up hope, though, and sought counsel from Pastor Suhr of Christ Church in Mequon, who reached out to members in his congregation for insight. One was willing to help out with what materials he had available and some of his time, and another said he would see what he could do and asked to meet with Kelly and Scott in person to get a better idea of what they were looking for.

Kelly watches progress on the new addition with project consultant Jeff Brady.
Being from the construction industry, Jeremia had an extensive network of resources that he could use to help Kelly and Scott, and help he did.  Before the initial meeting, Jeremia had collected a small group of local contractors that were willing to help, based solely on the brief outline that Pastor Suhr was able to tell Jeremia. After the first meeting, and getting a full review of what Kelly needed and what she was hoping for, Jeremia was on a mission. Over the course of the next 2 1/2 months, Jeremia formed an army of people and contractors who wanted to help. This army was lead by a team of three consultants, Jeremia, Adam Schwai, and Jeff Brady, who specialized in design, project management, and social networking. 


Work begins on the new foundation.
Kelly was hoping to get a small bathroom added into her first floor somewhere; the consultants felt otherwise. After viewing the layout of the first floor and the basement, the team saw that they needed to put a bathroom addition onto the house to most effectively accommodate Kelly's lifestyle. Jeremia and his team have put together a 6'x10' bathroom addition. Costs of this addition have been thrown out the window by Jeremia's team of 19 local contractors; all of which are donating their time, equipment, and what materials that are needed to help this family. The team has not spared any detail -  heated marble floors, the custom cabinets, and the zero threshold custom shower sheathed in different patterns of marble are just some of the details that will make Kelly's bathroom special. The list of details goes on.

This project will give Kelly her pre-cancer life back and is a testament of how faith, hope, and great people can come together to help others in their communities.

Bookmark this blog for future updates on the project. For more information please contact Jeremia at 920.559.9633.

14 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. Jeremia,
    Your selfless efforts to help this family is amazing. I commend you and everyone involved and hope you achieve your completed project as quickly as possible.

    -Matt Krier

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  3. It is an honor to be able to help Scott and Kelly with their family needs. This project has given me a sense of fulfillment that I have not had in a long time. I feel that opportunities like this may only come along once in a person's lifetime and a person should not put a parameter on what they think they can do to help, but question themselves every day on what else can be done to help.

    Thank you Scott and Kelly for having faith; faith in me and my entire team.
    ~Jeremia Johnson Project Manager

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  4. that’s great. good work.
    ~ anonymous friend

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  5. Nicely done J! I look forward to pics of the finished project!

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  6. What a wonderful testimony to the existence of miracles. Kind hearted, generous people do still exist.

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  7. Great work Jeremia! Life is measured by what we can give back, not by what we take. You are a true testament to that. If only more people in the world were like that...just imagine!!
    ~John P

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  8. Wow...you are a really good person. That's really cool. That's nice to do that for them.
    ~anonymous Door County

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  9. This is awesome Jeremia Johnson! You have a big heart and a willing hand. Great work dude!

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  10. The Jeremia in this story is my future nephew-in-law. Very proud of the unselfish nature he is showing to make this happen for a very deserving person.
    ~ Cindy C

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  11. Jeremia – this is just awesome. I love it! Congratulations.
    ~Becky

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