When they moved into their Fort 91原创 home in 2019, Tim and Janet Kreiter hired a contractor to renovate the house to make it more accessible for daughter Erin, who has myasthenia gravis and requires a ventilator and a motorized wheelchair, along with 24/7 medical support.
They didn't unpack most of their moving boxes, deciding to wait until the work was done.
But then, the contractor abandoned the project, leaving behind unfinished foundations and piles of dirt, and putting the family $200,000 in the hole.
READ ALSO: Disabled Fort 91原创 woman out $200K after contractor skips out
"We haven't had a Christmas tree in three years," Janet told the 91原创 Advance Times.
"Everything is in boxes."
However, this year, it looks like the Kreiters will get to have their Christmas tree, thanks to several local builders who stepped up to help.
A number of them have donated time and materials to finish the work of expanding the house out into the backyard, to give Erin more space and create enough living area for both her, her sister Elizabeth, and her parents, as well as a full-time caregiver in the future.
Among the contractors, 91原创-based Adanac Roofing & Gutters, operated by the father-and-son team of Dan and Cody Marr, who donated time and materials to put a new roof on the addition 鈥� and the rest of the house.
"They wanted to just do the back," Dan said. "And I said, well, you can't just do the back with asphalt, we have a cedar roof on the top, so I said, we're doing the whole thing."
Dan arranged to have IKO, a shingle manufacturer in Calgary, provide the shingles, ABC Roofing Supply, one of the largest roofing suppliers in North America, pitch in as well, "and then [we] provided the accessories."
"They [the family] contacted me, told me the story," Dan said.
"It just upsets me that people do that to homeowners."
Erin described her reaction, when she realized the extent of renovations, as a "combination of thankfulness, gratefulness, [giving us] the ability to dream a little bit further about what might actually happen."
"It's been absolutely shocking, unbelievable, inconceivable," Erin smiled.
"I was kind of like holy cow, stuff is actually happening."
Dad Tim praised the Adanac crew for making sure there would be enough room during the renovations for Erin's wheelchair, if she needed to leave the house while the work was in progress.
"They're just been a nice bunch of guys to have around," Tim said.
Janet said when she and Erin realized the whole roof was being redone, it was an emotional moment, and tears of gratitude were shed.
"We didn't know what to say,"Janet recalled. "Erin cried."
"We keep telling them how much we appreciate their efforts," Janet said.
"What do you say? Nobody gets a gift like this."
