Home Depot volunteers improve paralyzed man's Pasco home

John Berg was a hard-working, outdoorsy guy who loved fishing and the New York Giants almost as much as his family.

For Berg, 35, the love is still there, but a brain stem stroke he suffered a couple of years ago left him paralyzed from the neck down. Although he can communicate with people who can read his lips, he is dependent on a breathing apparatus and wheelchair.

Berg has enjoyed watching sons, Johnny, 6, and Jamie, 4, play in the back yard. But roots in the yard made it hard for him to get around in his wheelchair.

That changed Thursday.

By 9 a.m., about 40 Home Depot employees from stores in Seminole and New Port Richey were in Berg's back yard, erecting a fence, busting out roots, tearing out a concrete slab and building a ramp that leads to a deck, where Berg can relax in the shade while his kids frolic nearby. They also did landscaping work.

Berg's wife, Mindy, said they both were overwhelmed by the kind gesture, which started when Home Depot manager Frank Essex learned of Berg's need for a generator.

"He was thrilled when they were able to get that," she said.

And with good reason. In June, Berg nearly died when the power went out and his breathing apparatus stopped working. Happily, the power kicked on in time.

"When he learned of all this," Mindy Berg said, gesturing at the yard full of Home Depot employees working for free on their day off, "he thought it was too much. But I said, 'John, if people want to help you, let them help you.'

"He's completely grateful."

After Essex, who runs the Seminole store, learned more about Berg's situation, he investigated the possibility of doing more than supplying a generator.

He was able to secure a $6,500 grant through The Home Depot Foundation, which worked on the project with The Abilities Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Clearwater that helps people with disabilities meet various needs.

Essex also rolled up his sleeves this morning, sweating as he helped bust roots out of the back yard. He said it would take the team of about 40 people about 20 hours to complete the project.

While the grant paid for the materials, Clarissa Surls, a human resources manager with Home Depot, said the cost in man hours was practically incalculable.

Although it was a typically steamy Florida morning, the Home Depot workers and Abilities Foundation representatives seemed happy to be there.

"We just want people with disabilities to have access to things as simplistic as enjoying your family in your own back yard," said Frank DeLucia, president and chief executive officer of The Abilities Foundation.

As she held son Jamie in her arms, Mindy Berg said that her husband still struggles with the drastic turn his life made.

"His mind is intact and clear," she said. "He's still kind of depressed and not really comfortable being around people.

"But he's going to be able to spend time with his kids outside now. He always loved that."