Custom home helps child deal with medical challenges
Builder unveils fully accessible house designed to make life easier for family
After almost a full year of construction and six years of planning, Clare’s House is built — and nine-year-old Clare Jackson will be better equipped to live with cerebral palsy, scoliosis and her other severe medical challenges.
Cardel Homes took on the project when the company learned how much easier life could be for the Jacksons with a proper home. Spencer and Jadi Jackson, Clare’s parents, were hoping for a home with an elevator and accessible bathroom, but Cardel Homes took it a step further, making everything as accessible as possible.
“Our house we live in now is not accessible. We carry her up and down the stairs, 10 or 15 times a day, and it’s getting dangerous. This house will serve an amazing purpose for us,” Spencer said on Friday when the house was revealed.
Soon after Clare was born she had a stroke, which led to her first few medical setbacks. As she grew, other challenges emerged.
“We learned she couldn’t eat, we had to get a tube, and she didn’t start walking or talking . ... As we’ve gone through it, and I see how hard she’s worked to sit up on her own or communicate with her iPad, I realize it’s pretty amazing, what she can do,” said Jadi.
The new home features an elevator to help Clare move freely from floor to floor and play with her older siblings Anna, 14, and Cooper, 12. The home has a roll-in shower, lowering countertops and five-foot-wide hallways, spacious enough for Clare’s wheelchair to turn around.
“Even things like the counter that lowers will make it so she can participate more. So at our current house, she spends a lot of time laying on the floor because it’s not accessible. Our family feels a little disjointed sometimes …. Now she’s going to be more motivated to be in her chair and be involved,” said Jadi.
The Jacksons can’t wait to move in and discover all the ways the house will enhance their life by making things easier. Cardel Homes and the partners involved in the project were thrilled to watch Clare take her first ride up the elevator.
“We know there’s so many families in the same situation as the Jacksons, in Calgary, and we can’t help them all, but we can build something you can look at and look forward to. We wanted to show what you can do with a home with accessible features,” said Damon Ockey, chief marketing officer of Cardel Homes.