Local war hero getting new home

POLSON — Badly injured in Afghanistan nearly three years ago, Tomy Parker of Ronan is about to get a home to accommodate his war wounds.

While on a foot patrol in the late afternoon of Dec. 11, 2010, Parker stepped on an improvised explosive device, resulting in a left leg amputation at the hip, a right leg amputation directly above the knee plus the loss of all of the fingers except his thumb on his left hand.

After extensive rehabilitation, Parker today uses a wheelchair or prosthetics to get around — and getting around his own home is a challenge.

“You can’t fit through the doors in a wheelchair, getting into the shower is really hard, things you don’t normally notice until you’re trying to figure out how to do them in a wheelchair,” Parker said.

But thanks to Homes For Our Troops, Parker will soon have a specially adapted home of his own. The national program is a nonprofit dedicated to providing customized homes for veterans severely injured in Iraq or Afghanistan.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held last Saturday near Polson for Parker and his family. Ashley Twigg, community outreach coordinator with Homes for Our Troops, expects construction to take about six months, depending on the weather.

The homes built by Homes For Our Troops are provided at no cost to the veterans and Parker’s new house is only the second home in Montana the group has built.

Among those in attendance at the ceremony was Neil Frustaglio of San Antonio, Texas, who also lost his legs after surviving an IED explosion while in combat.

Frustaglio now walks on prosthetic legs and was recently provided with a house from Homes for Our Troops. He told Parker that moving into a specialized home able to meet his daily needs has been overwhelmingly beneficial for him and his family.

“I didn’t realize how big an impact it would have on my daily life,” Frustaglio said.

Parker’s new home will include 150 special adaptations including lowered appliances, roll-in showers and grip bars.

“It means a lot to me,” Parker said. “It will take a lot of stress out of my life and my family. Having a house that’s not adapted makes everything harder. Laundry and cooking, getting dressed, showering; it’s almost impossible without help sometimes. And because of my injuries it’s hard for me to get a job, so being able to afford a home is difficult.”

“The ease of movement will be great, and there will be less cleaning, too,” he joked. “In the winter, wheelchairs pick up mud and it’s hard on the carpet.”

Homes For Our Troops relies on grant funding and donations to build those homes, and although skilled labor is used for the majority of construction, Twigg said there are opportunities for community members to get involved. She said the group is constantly looking for donations and those interested can visit their website for building updates.

In this season of giving, Parker and his family are especially thankful.

“Myself, my fiancee, and my daughters are extremely lucky and grateful,” Parker told Saturday’s crowd.

“I don’t deserve anything,” Parker added, modestly. “I chose to join because I wanted to give to something greater than myself.”

For anyone interested in working on Parker’s home or for more information on Homes For Our Troops, go online to www.hfotusa.org.