A local Home Depot went above and beyond for a wheelchair-bound Vietnam veteran.
Calvin Skip Mullen, who recently moved to the area from Louisiana, visited the Home Depot at the Concordville Town Centre on Hatton Drive in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania Sunday around 5:30 p.m. The Navy Veteran was with his daughter Chris Jones as they searched through the hardware store for lumber to build a ramp to cover the steps leading up to the entrance of his newly purchased condo.
The veteran began to suffer from diabetes due to Agent Orange exposure during his service which led to the amputation of his right leg from the knee down. With the aid of a prosthetic device, Mullen fortunately has walking capabilities. However, due to the development of sores on his leg he is currently wheelchair-bound and unable to enter the condo without the assistance of an incline.
Upon entering Home Depot, they spoke to an employee and a supervisor, Ed, about purchasing lumber as well as inquiring if they could have the wood cut to cover the steps outside the condo. The supervisor told them yes and then eagerly offered to assemble the ramp and deliver the finished product to the condo without any additional charge.
Ed also assured the family that the ramp would be ready for installation after they returned from dinner. Within just two hours, the ramp was completed. Even though the family returned to the store at the brink of closing time, the employees did not hesitate to finish the job.
The employee followed the family to the condo, located approximately three miles from the store, unloaded the ramp from the truck and assembled it quickly. Mullen had safe access to his home within the hour.
Jones was elated after the experience, commending the employees’ efforts. In addition to showing the family kindness, Home Depot also saved them from a large out-of-pocket expense. Jones noted that the materials alone would have cost hundreds of dollars.
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“My mom was floored and was saying ‘this has never happened in Louisiana, I just can’t believe this is happening,’” Jones said. “They did all this for us and he didn’t even ask for it – it was amazing.”
Jones is thankful to the employees for showing appreciation for her father’s nine years of service.
“I’ve already been telling everyone today that Home Depot is the bomb –they went way above and beyond,” Jones said. “It was a very humbling experience because you don’t hear about that, you always hear about the bad stuff.”
