Local Community Renovates Home for Wounded Warrior Project Veteran

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (Dec. 7, 2017) – The Jaynes Corporation recently rallied around a wounded veteran and his family by providing some much-needed renovations to their home. The Schei family, served by Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP), got a major overhaul of their residence to better help seriously wounded Army veteran Erik Schei move around his home.

The help – and the materials for the overhaul – were fully provided by the Jaynes Corporation through Doug Boling, senior estimator with Jaynes Corporation and vice-chair of the YMCA of Central New Mexico Corporate Board.

Thanks to generous donors, WWP is able to serve warriors by connecting them with one another and their communities and empowering them to live life on their terms.

“I knew about the Schei family’s story through Mary Tallouzi and Ed Tyke, who I used to fundraise with for Wounded Warrior Project,” Doug said. “They told me about the family, Erik’s service, what happened, and how his parents must provide Erik with care pretty much 24/7. I thought to myself, ‘how can we help one of New Mexico’s own local warriors?’ That scale of injury isn’t something you hear a lot about in New Mexico.”

Erik was wounded in 2005 by an insurgent sniper – the bullet pierced his helmet and brain, near his right ear. By the time his parents arrived at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland, he was lying in a hospital bed with his skull partially removed. Today, Erik relies on the full-time care of his parents, Gordon and Christine, who live at home with him.

“When Ed, Mary, and I visited the Scheis, it was evident that even though the house was retrofitted for ADA, it did not work for Erik,” Doug said. “Erik’s wheelchair is bigger than most and does not typically fit through doors. We saw the door trim was banged up.”

The home’s renovation needs were extensive. The new layout allows Erik to more easily maneuver his electric wheelchair into his bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen without hitting the walls or other furniture.

“Thankfully, the renovations were relatively easy,” Doug said. “We were able to widen Erik’s bedroom door, and we changed out the door to the patio with a wider door. Erik spends a lot of time out there, and I can see why. It’s got a great view.”

Renovations were also made to the family kitchen – a fix Doug knew would come in handy with how hard Christine and Gordon work to take care of their son.

“Christine needed more counter space to prep the family meals, and we needed to change out the cooktop for easier cleaning,” Doug said. “The kitchen remodel was probably the most challenging – from moving the pantry wall four feet to enlarging the kitchen island, it was very involved. A lot had to be moved around, including the refrigerator water line, cabinets, and removal and replacement of the kitchen floor tiles.”

After a few weeks of continuous hard work, the project was finished – and the Scheis returned to their newly refurbished home.

“The family was really awesome and pitched in where they could,” Doug said. “But we couldn’t have done it without everyone who helped out. The entire effort made me proud to be in construction and work with the caliber of folks who can do this work. With the partnership between Wounded Warrior Project, Jaynes Corporation, and the YMCA of Central New Mexico, it has truly been amazing – and at the end of the day, we helped a great warrior and his family.”

To see the rest of the Schei family’s story, visit https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/mission/meet-a-warrior/christine-gordon-erik-schei. To learn more about how donors fuel WWP’s programs and services that connect, serve, and empower wounded warriors, visit http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org.

Contact: Mattison Brooks – Public Relations

Email: mbrooks@woundedwarriorproject.org

Phone: 904.451.5590