Amy Boeshaar was recently on KC Live discussing our 2018 Big Splash project and was lucky to have Nanette and Garrett Haskin join her.
Selecting a Recipient
This is the eighth year in a row Schloegel has been able to give away a bathroom. Each year we take nominations, which are made by a health or professional provider. From there a committee reviews all the applicants and goes through the painstaking process of selecting one. It is an extremely difficult decision as all the nominees are so deserving. Everyone can use something. The committee tries to select based off what we can do to help make a child independent. We could easily see how Garrett would benefit from an accessible bathroom. Every teenager deserves privacy in the bathroom!
Schloegel also selects a couple of other nominees as Ripple Effect recipients meaning they would benefit from something smaller such as a wider door or tub to shower conversion. However, thanks to the generosity of our vendors and suppliers this year we were able to give two full bathrooms to those recipients.
A Big Change
When asked how the new bathroom has changed Garrett’s life, his response was simple but captured exactly what we hoped for, “Well I don’t have to have my mom help me in the new bathroom.”
Nanette shared some of the pain points of their old bathroom. The previous bathroom had a very narrow door and when Garrett used his wheelchair, he wasn’t able to get into the bathroom. The tub/shower had a pipe leak some years ago and they weren’t able to fix it because the funds always needed to be allocated to medical bills.
The new bathroom has a wider door, an accessible vanity, a zero-entry shower, and grab bars. It’s made a huge difference for Garrett to be able to get through the doorway as well as use the shower without assistance or worrying about his safety. And while the bathroom is accessible it doesn’t lack in design. Amy mentions today there are so many options an accessible bathroom doesn’t need to look like what you may have in your head. They can be beautiful.
As Amy has seen throughout the years she’s worked on Big Splash, the greatest thing about providing these bathrooms is giving a child independence and knowing they’re able to get in and out as well as move around the bathroom safely.
Take a closer look at the 2018 Big Splash bathroom.
We are hoping 2019 will be our ninth year giving away an accessible bathroom. Look for more information about nominating a deserving child in September 2019.
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