Rachel Barr humorously refers to herself on Twitter as @MomWithOneLeg. While she has a good sense of humor, in actuality there's not much funny about losing a leg. Rachel has clearly adapted well to her situation, providing great care to her three young adult children. Rachel and her children all suffer from a genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis or NF1. She lost her leg 18 years ago, when she was pregnant with her twin boys, as a result of circulation complications from NF1. Since then she has had 6 more leg surgeries.
Rachel and her family have been an active part of Church Requel since its founding back in the living room days of 2009. Now Rachel runs a camera for us every Sunday evening. She good naturedly hops around on her one leg without ever losing her smile or her eye for detail.
A month ago Rachel moved from the country to an apartment in Mansfield. This puts her and her family near the main bus line and closer to everything. "It gave me back my freedom," Rachel told me. "Unless it snows I can use my wheelchair to get just about anywhere."
The location is great. But there's one problem. There are 5 large steps into the main entryway of her apartment - no laughing matter for this mom with one leg.
During the Church Requel Men's breakfast last month, our guys talked about buying the materials and building a ramp for Rachel so she can use her wheelchair to get in and out of her apartment. Upon further investigation we have learned that if we partner with Civitan, they will provide the expert workers to build the ramp if we will provide the materials. If anyone has ever watched me (or any of the other men in our church) assemble anything, you'll know what a great benefit the Civitan builders will bring to Rachel.
The cost of the materials for the ramp will be approximately $400. Church Requel is committed to paying for this ramp for Rachel. If you would like to partner with us as we partner with Civitan, we would welcome your help. If you will be at the Church Requel service this coming Sunday evening, you can just mark part of your donation envelope to help Rachel. If you won't be at CR Sunday, but you'd like to help contribute, you can mail your contribution to Church Requel, 1216 Butternut Court, Mansfield, Ohio 44906. If we all just do just a little, we'll be able to pay for this ramp easily!
If you have any questions or would like to send me a comment, use my email: mark.pierce@churchrequel.org. Whatever you decide, thank you for your ongoing support of our ministry.
