(1/5) Adam Kisielewski
helps design programs and robots that allow
doctors to treat patients around the world as
part of Fort Detrick's telemedicine research
and Military Amputee Research Program, but
finishing off the basement in his home was a
bit beyond his skills.
"I had done this type of work in high school, but I had forgotten a lot of
it," Kisielewski said.
So he set out to finish off his basement. He got the framing for the walls
up, but he decided he needed help with the drywall and acoustical ceiling
tiles.
He contacted Cynthia McGrew at Operation Second Chance, an organization that
assists wounded service men and women at Walter Reed Hospital along with
providing additional assistance to returning war veterans and their families.
Kisielewski, a marine, had become familiar with the organization because he had
lost an arm and leg in Iraq.
Kisielewski said McGrew "has been tons and tons of help for me," and she was
in this case as well. She contacted Paul Davis Restoration and Remodeling of
Suburban Maryland and Washington D. C. to help out.
"Adam had a goal to complete the project by the end of the year. He
requested assistance with drywall installation and the acoustical ceiling
tiles. He couldn't find a contractor that would do this portion of the project
for him. So, the Paul Davis offices in the area immediately said 'yes' and
began to implement the project, plus identify additional areas for repairs and
restoration," said Brock Merwin, office operations manager with Paul Davis
Restoration and Remodeling.
Merwin sent a crew in to do the drywall, ceiling tiles and painting.
"They showed me how to do some of the other things I wanted to do and I
learned better ways to do them and they put me in touch with someone who could
do the carpeting," said Kisielewski.
He figures that he has about two weeks left until the basement is complete
and that he might be able to celebrate with a Super Bowl party.
"Adam's a great kid," Merwin said. "His personality is amazing and he's
proven to us that you don't have to give up on anything."
The project is part of Paul Davis Restoration Inc.'s sixth annual 2006 "Paul
Davis Restoring America." The program is a home improvement initiative designed
to provide free time, labor, and materials to a local beneficiary.
Beneficiaries include homeowners who cannot afford or who are physically unable
to fix up their homes. Paul Davis Restoration offices throughout the country
fix the homes of those in need at no charge, as part of the company's Restoring
America program.
