Life can change in a flash.
When Adam Cherney joined the Marine Corps, he never imagined he’d leave the Marines as a wheelchair-bound veteran. But, in June 2021, his life changed forever, due to an accident while serving. On top of that, he developed a rare spinal cord disease that causes him severe chronic pain along with other symptoms.
With this challenging daily reality as a civilian – as well as his and his wife Kelsey’s first child on the way – their living situation wasn’t sustainable.
“I’m a big guy – 6’5 and about 250 pounds – so my wheelchair is larger than usual ones; fitting through areas that most people in wheelchairs can is not so easy for me,” Adam said.
“We were living in a one-bedroom apartment, and that just got too small. We looked for apartment after apartment and rental home after rental home, and nothing worked.”
The situation was becoming desperate as the Cherneys’ apartment lease was about to expire. They finally found a home in a rental community. It was extremely inaccessible, but at least they had more room.
While Adam and Kelsey were grateful to have a roof over their heads, Adam’s day-to-day was a real struggle, even with things most of us take for granted.
“For a few months of living here, I had to transfer into a smaller wheelchair just to get into our bedroom,” Adam said.
“And for awhile, for the bathroom, I had to get out of my wheelchair, crawl into the bathroom and then pull myself up onto the toilet.”
Because of Adam’s faith and the support of a few good friends, he was able to stay strong through this difficult time.
“I have a wonderful group of gentlemen from Perimeter Church – Robin Harrison, Joe Redmond, Bill Skinner and Jerry Shriver – who give me rides to appointments, take me to lunch, baseball games and pray for me every Thursday. And they’ve been doing this for two years now,” Adam said.
“Their prayers have blessed my wife and me in ways that we could have never imagined.”
In fact, Joe Redmond, a regular Home Repairs volunteer, was able to connect Adam with Home Repairs to help get him the help he needed.
“These guys, every single time I came to them with something, they always said, ‘Okay, we’re gonna figure this out,’” Adam said.
“Even though there was nothing that was accessible in our house, I had this confidence and this calmness that God called these gentlemen to come around, that they were going to figure it out and that something was going to work out.”
Home Repairs soon stepped in.
“I think they came out faster than any contractor would have, and in my opinion, they did the work faster than any contractor would have!” Adam said.
“I now have a bathroom I can get into with no problem. My bedroom door is wide open, so I can go right in. They built a ramp for the front door and the back door, so I can easily get out, and we don’t have to rely on portable metal ramps.”
Not only did Home Repairs make a way for the Cherneys’ current life to be easier, but they’ve also helped them prepare for the exciting days ahead and removed the stress of another move before their daughter arrives this fall.
“Without HRM’s help, there was no way we could have had a nursery. Now, we have a nursery that I can go right into, so I can be with my daughter,” Adam said. “We were going to have to look for another home before, so that’s a major blessing.”
Adam’s physical struggles keep him from being able to function within a work setting. However, the help he received through Home Repairs has inspired him to make a difference in other ways.
“The charity and help of organizations like Home Repairs Ministries really motivated me to pay it forward and help other people,” Adam said. “So I volunteer my time to help veterans and people with disabilities find resources.
“I’ve helped some veterans get plugged in with the Wounded Warrior Project so they can get mental health treatment, help with their benefits from the VA and resources for home care; I’ve helped a gentleman over in the United Kingdom find nonprofits and charities for his rheumatoid arthritis; and I connected with a double amputee to help find some resources for her.
“It just shows that the kingdom of God spreads when you do this stuff, and I just want to keep showing it the same way, in my way, that I can do it.
“Life wouldn’t be the same if Home Repairs hadn’t come through and helped. God put some awesome people on our path, and we’re just grateful for that.”