HOMING IN ON DISABLED VETS VALLEY SERVICEMAN'S HOUSE GETS A REMODEL.Byline: JULIA M. SCOTT Staff Writer Navy Seabee James Miner was working on top of a shipping container in Kuwait during the Iraq war Iraq War: see under Persian Gulf Wars. Iraq War or Second Persian Gulf War Brief conflict in 2003 between Iraq and a combined force of troops largely from the U.S. and Great Britain; and a subsequent U.S. when a vicious sandstorm sandstorm, strong dry wind blowing over the desert that raises and carries along clouds of sand or dust often so dense as to obscure the sun and reduce visibility almost to zero; also known as a duststorm. hit. Winds blowing 100 miles an hour blasted Miner off the container, dropping him 30 feet. When his comrades found him he was so covered in sand that nobody recognized him. Miner, 53, emerged from a coma to find himself partly paralyzed par·a·lyze tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es 1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. 2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear. , deaf in one ear, and nearly blind. He believes luck got him home alive. But his good fortune didn't stop there. Miner was selected to receive a $100,000 remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling job that will adapt the Lake View Terrace home he shares with his wife and infant daughter to accommodate the wheelchair he relies on most of the time. The program, Serving Those Who Serve, is a partnership between Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit, and Calabasas-based Countrywide Financial Corp., that assists veterans injured in fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rebuilding Together has renovated homes of the low-income and elderly for 20 years. On Thursday, 53 volunteers, friends and members of the media gathered in Miner's driveway. Veterans Day was two days away. ``My life will be considerably different and much better than it had been,'' said Miner, who wore a navy blue Seabees cap and jet-black sunglasses. During the past three weeks volunteers gutted and rebuilt the master bathroom, expanding it to accommodate Miner's wheelchair. They installed two automatic chair lifts so Miner can access the entire tri-level house and slathered the exterior with a coat of gray paint. Next week they plan to rip out to rap out, to utter hastily and violently; as, to rip out an oath. See also: Rip the soft carpeting that bogs down Miner's chair and install hardwood floors. This is the first veteran's home Rebuilding Together (www.rebuildingtogether.org) and Countrywide have rehabilitated in California and the seventh nationwide. They chose Miner partly because of the length of his service. He served as a Navy Seabee in the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hancock and the USS USS abbr. 1. United States Senate 2. United States ship USS abbr (= United States Ship) → Namensteil von Schiffen der Kriegsmarine Niagra Falls. He was in the U.S. Navy Reserve for 26 years and served in Afghanistan before being called up for Iraq. ``The debt our nation owes our troops knows no limits,'' said Mary Jane Seebach, a spokeswoman for Countrywide. At the Woodland Hills chapter of Disabled American Veterans The Disabled American Veterans, or DAV, is an organization for disabled veterans that helps them and their families through various means. It currently has over 1.2 million members. The DAV was controversial during the 2006 election cycle. , Les Nolte, 77, said these types of programs fill in a gap left by the government. ``They seem to forget about the veterans once they leave'' the service, Nolte said. ``That would help them.'' Jackie Pensanti, a close friend of the Miners', knows just how much the changes will make life easier for the family. ``Jim is not capable of going up and down the stairs Adv. 1. down the stairs - on a floor below; "the tenants live downstairs" downstairs, on a lower floor, below ,'' Pensanti said as she cradled baby Abigail. ``It's very hard for him to walk. All this wonderful work they're doing is going to help him.'' Miner's wife, Phon phon n. A unit of apparent loudness, equal in number to the intensity in decibels of a 1,000-hertz tone judged to be as loud as the sound being measured. , a nurse, cares for him full-time while raising their daughter. Before the modifications to their home, Phon had to bathe him and fully support him up stairs. Miner can take a few wobbly steps but needs Phon's support to sit on his bed and get around without his chair. Now, Miner has more time with his little girl. ``You've changed our lives,'' Phon said, choking up, ``but more importantly, Abby's life.'' julia.scott(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3735 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Disabled vet James Miner is all smiles outside his home. (2 -- color) Former Navy Seabee James Miner gets a hug from neighbor Maya Bond as his wife, Phon, looks on after a news conference Thursday at the Miners' home. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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