Joliet family still needs handicap ramp 6 years later

The Robertson family in Joliet needs a ramp. And, as with many previous such hurdles they faced, they are trying to raise the money for one one their own.

On June 5 Harold Robertson, 55, fell out of a kitchen chair at the house, had a seizure and lost his heartbeat for a few minutes.

Because his wife, 60-year-old Debbie Robertson, works as a caregiver for a home health company, she said she knew how to perform CPR and kept Harold stable until the paramedics arrived. It turned out Harold had four blockages in his heart and subsequently had coronary artery bypass graft surgery, Debbie said.

Harold is doing well overall, Debbie said, but he does have weakness in his left leg where the vein for the bypass surgery was removed, she said. Harold also is having trouble with balance.

That leaves Harold in a wheelchair for now, which makes it hazardous to remove him from the house for doctor appointments, Debbie said, adding that Harold has two such visits scheduled this month.

One appointment is for an electrocardiogram, and the second is to see whether Harold still needs the “special vest” he’s worn since the bypass surgery, Debbie said.

Besides those complications, Debbie said Harold is doing well. He has no problems with his speech or moving his hands and arms, and he is receiving physical therapy.

“It’s all in God’s hands,” Debbie said. “I have faith in my Lord.”

However, she has trouble with moving Harold to the vehicle because of the home’s four or five steps, which can require as many as four people to move his wheelchair. The last time Debbie tried to maneuver him, she said she missed the third step.

“My boys came and helped me with him,” Debbie said.

In 2015, Debbie and her family unsuccessfully tried to raise $7,000 for installing a ramp for their Joliet home and an adaptive van.

Robertson’s daughter Angie Sanchez, who was 29 at the time, had suffered two debilitating strokes in 2007 after the birth of her son Jose. Sanchez became completely wheelchair-bound, which made it difficult for the family to move her out of the house – so Sanchez rarely left.

Dr. George Dietz, a home-visiting family practice doctor based in Oak Park who saw Sanchez monthly, said that a ramp and van were important for Sanchez’s overall wellbeing. Except for hospitalizations, Sanchez had been stuck at home after her strokes.

“I think it’s kind of stupid to spend the rest of your life interacting with a TV set,” Dietz said.

But the family was never able to raise the money, even after distributing flyers, talking to people door-to-door, sharing the message on social media and starting a GoFundMe page. Sanchez later died in 2016.

Learning to care for Sanchez gave Debbie the tools to care for Harold and to eventually become certified for working as a personal assistant caregiver in home health, she said. Debbie said she bathed, dressed and fed her adult daughter, learned about feeding tubes and catheter lines, and disliked being away from Angie for any length of time.

“I would leave to go to the store to buy stuff, but I’d always want to get home – to feed her and to give her medicine,” Debbie said in the story. “I was always on it.”

The family is facing a repeat scenario of Sanchez’s homebound experience if they cannot get a ramp.

Debbie said she has someone who can build the ramp and he is in the process of asking the city of Joliet to approve the plans, but the family still needs to raise the money to pay for the ramp.

To donate any amount for the “Help To Get My Dad a Handicap Ramp” GoFundMe, visit gofund.me/bcfaa659.