A Community Says Thank You

Source: Colorado Springs Gazette (September 15, 2005)
Author:  Cary Leider Vogrin

"Thank you. I can't believe I'm home," Scott told the group after Falcon firefighters helped him into a wheelchair. "I don't know exactly who everybody is, but thank you all."

Scott, an Army medic at Fort Carson, had been in Iraq for four months when his vehicle was ripped open by a roadside bomb July 9. His right leg was amputated below the knee, and he suffered numerous other severe injuries. He was granted a short pass home to see his three children - his first since he was wounded.
What Scott didn't know as he lay in his hospital bed was that his next-door neighbor, Shawn Shugars, was assembling an army of home-improvement experts to transform his friend's home.

When Scott left for Iraq in March with the 2nd Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, his yard was as barren as the Iraqi desert. On Wednesday, it bloomed with red Knockout roses and was trimmed with lush green grass. A rock fountain gurgled in the backyard. An elaborate, stamped-concrete patio lay outside the back sliding door.

Electricians, landscapers, garden experts and concrete workers pitched in for the job, as did Home Depot and John Laing Homes. Together, the group donated about $40,000 in labor, landscaping and other improvements to the home Scott had lived in for just a month before he was deployed.

Many of those who gave their time and services were there Wednesday to welcome Scott home and to say their own thankyous to the soldier.

But Scott just kept telling them "thank you" back.

"Absolutely beautiful," is all he could initially say when he took his first look around. His wife, Shelia, was equally stunned. She had been at her husband's side since he arrived stateside and also had no idea what her neighbor was up to.

"Is this our house?" she said to her husband.

Scott said he was overwhelmed but wanted to meet everyone involved.

Brad Hagan, a representative of John Laing Homes, offered his hand and, like everyone, bent down to give Scott a hug. "I'm an Air Force retiree," Hagan said in introducing himself. Scott was quick with a witty reply: "That's OK," he joked.

Shugars, a major at Air Force Space Command, cracked open a can of Sharp's nonalcoholic beer and handed it to his friend. "Here's the cheers I promised you we would have," he said.
Scott has a long road of rehabilitation ahead. He has yet to be fitted for a prosthetic leg and still cannot put weight on his left leg, which was fractured.

He also suffered a collapsed lung and several rib fractures during the attack, which occurred soon after he had stabilized another soldier. He and another medic were transporting the soldier to medical care when a bomb detonated. Scott was the only survivor in the vehicle.

He said he hopes to spend the few days he'll be home watching his sons, 8, 9 and 14, play football and enjoying his new yard.

Shugars said dozens of businesses took part in the makeover or donated funds.

"I think it's important for people to know there's communities who care about people," Shugars said later as he watched his friend talk to those who had helped him. "Not enough people do."