NORTHGLENN, Colo. -- He fought in the Pacific in the 1940s, and now lives quietly at home in Northglenn at the age of 92. Yet David Bergan had a problem: he couldn't take a shower.
“I can’t do much, I just waddle around,” he said.
One thing he can’t do is step into his regular tub to take a shower. His family tried a to remodel it, but couldn't finish it.
“I sponge bathed out of the sink,” Bergan said, adding that he did it for two months. “Got to smelling pretty bad."
Denver7 heard about this veteran in need, and reported Jason Gruenauer made a phone call.
“We had to jump on the situation immediately knowing he’s a vet and certainly in need,” Matthew Jimenez of CARE Restoration said.
CARE is a small company that does restoration work, and worked with Denver7 a few months ago to help a woman in a wheelchair move out of her moldy apartment. They gladly volunteered to help again.
“We had to do some demolition work, some major cleanup work before any reconstruction work can be started,” Jimenez said.
“And got in and set a new backboard for the shower surround and put in the shower surround,” Erick Halvorson, also of CARE, told Denver7.
But CARE isn’t a plumbing company. So they called Applewood Plumbing, a company they’ve worked with in the past, and they jumped on board.
“Especially the fact that he’s a vet and I’m a vet,” master plumber Billy Wendel, of Applewood, said. “And helping other veterans is always been a top priority of mine so that’s why I took on the project.”
Applewood replaced the leaking shower valve, added a new hand-held shower, and installed a shower transfer seat that allows someone to sit down and slide into the shower.
All of the materials, time, and labor were donated. Mr. Bergan’s new shower came free of charge.
“Well it’s a blessing,” he said. “I just took a shower and it felt pretty good.”
And a job done to say thank you, leaves a hero saying it back.
If you'd like to know more about CARE Restoration, click here. To know more about Applewood Plumbing, click here.