Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
The Hill Family - Ottawa, KS
Staff Sergeant Allen Hill had a plan: serve his country on the Iraqi battlefield and then return home to his loving wife and two adoring children, A roadside bomb shattered his plan-and his life. While on patrol in Iraq on November 21, 2007, the Humvee in which he was traveling was rocked by a massive Improvised Explosive Device. Allen was knocked unconscious. When he next opened his eyes, he was in a hospital. Like so many of our troops SSGT Hill faced the "signature" injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, an insidious crippling enemy: PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
The primary issues with which SSGT Hill is confronted are environmental triggers: loud noises, vibrations, dimly lit areas even trash bins can set off a terrifying "fight or flight" response sending him psychologically right back to a war zone. These triggers represent incoming fire to Allen and he will either flee and seek cover or rush toward the triggers trying to "establish a perimeter."
Despite his tremendous challenges, SSGT Hill made significant strides toward recovery at Walter Reid and, later, working with the Warrior Transition Unit. Allen finally returned home. Unfortunately, his home itself presented the greatest challenge to his recovery: the Hills' home is near both a rock quarry that uses dynamite to blast and a train yard where behemoth locomotives produce loud noise and vibration that would be unsettling even to someone not suffering from PTSD. After blasts at the quarry or the crash of trains coupling, SSGT Hills' family has found him wandering in the street. One of his family's greatest fears is that a trigger will send him running blindly into the street where he will be killed by a car.
Allen eventually succumbed to the environmental triggers and suffered a full-blown relapse. SSGT Hill was sent to a cutting edge non-profit treatment facility in Napa Valley called The Pathway Home. Allen has worked tirelessly in the program and thrived. He's not 100% the old Allen, but he laughs, jokes and as he says: has got some of his "mojo" back! He is ready to return home. But despite all his hard work and a loving family who wants him home desperately...he can't return to a life bordered by blasts at a rock quarry and the clattering of railroad tracks. So this American hero, who has sacrificed so much for his country and worked tirelessly to help himself get better for his family, is stuck; ready to go home and begin anew with his family, but essentially trapped in no man's land.
However, there IS hope: Oscar-nominated actress Glenn Close met SSGT Hill through a program called Puppies Behind Bars. The PBB program employs prisoners to train service dogs for wounded vets. Allen's new service dog, Frankie, was produced by the program and has helped the Sergeant make significant strides toward wellness. Ms. Close has taken a personal interest in the Hill family, appearing with them on Oprah, and is working hard to procure a piece of land in the neighborhood where the Hills wish to live.
Of course SSGT Hill isn't the only hero in this story...Gina, his wife, has gone to extraordinary lengths to support her husband and family. Unwilling to sit on the sidelines and let the recovery process take its course, Gina has forced the issue-she has become an advocate not only of her husband but of all of our warriors battling with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury. Last month Gina joined CA Congresswoman Grace Napolitano on Capitol Hill and addressed GEN Chiarelli and other military and political leaders about the importance of understanding the realities of PTSD and TBI. Gina has transformed herself from a stay-at-home mom into a passionate advocate for our troops!
Despite their trials, the Hills remain an upbeat, loving family. The two sons Makale and Dreyson Jove their parents and have passions and interests of their own: Makale's an athlete and Dreyson loves musical theater and comedy.
The Hills are an inspiration to us all; they have vowed to beat this - together, as a family. By providing them with a suitable home, we'll be giving them the foundation to reunite a family that has been separated by PTSD. Let's do our part to bring SSGT Hill back into the arms of his loving family and finally...home.
| COMPANY | CONTRIBUTION | PHONE NUMBER |
| Viking Pools Inc. | Barcelona Pool | (800) VKG-POOL |
| Jandy | Pool Equipment | (800) 544-3730 |
| The Pool Guyz - Ric Reineke | Project Management | (877) BAK-FLIP |
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