A Brighter Holiday Season Thanks to the Dallas Ramp Project

Gloria H helped build fighter planes while her husband was in the Navy during World War II. It takes an especially sharp, disciplined type of person to do that sort of work. Gloria is exactly that sort of person: determined and dedicated, capable and courageous.

After the War, she kept the books for Sears for many years until she decided to focus on her family and raise her daughter Jackie. For over fifty years, Gloria kept her household up and running like a fine oiled machine. From cooking to cleaning to caring for her husband and his health conditions, Gloria was on top of it all.

Everything changed on July 4th when Gloria, 83, suffered an attack which brought on intense dementia and Alzheimer's. Overnight, Gloria became disabled to the point where she could no longer take care of herself. She now depends on others to help her with the most basic of tasks. Gloria has had to learn to use a walker and - even more difficult - to lean on others, specifically her caretakers as well as her loving husband, daughter and son-in-law to help her through her daily routine.

Now, getting out of the house gets more difficult by the day. Even with the help of others, the steps leading down from her front porch poses a formidable challenge. One day, Jackie mentioned the problem of these steps to the social worker from the hospice. Just a few short weeks later, a representative from the Dallas Ramp Project reached out to the "H" family and set up a build date.

On a sunny morning in December a group of eager volunteers from EDS along with Mac , a veteran ramp builder, came out to Gloria's house to build her a ramp. This ramp will allow Gloria and her husband to continue to be a part of the world they so embrace - to eat out, to visit their daughter and her husband, to attend church and to see the lights around their neighborhood this Christmas. Thanks to the Dallas Ramp Project, this holiday season will be a little bit brighter for the "H" family.