By Karen Cohilas - bio | email
Sasser, GA (WALB) – Taking a shower is something you probably take for granted. For two disabled Terrell County women, it's not only a struggle, it can be dangerous. Now their mother is reaching out for help to outfit their home with a shower that she can roll their wheelchairs into.
Shirley Ford called everyone she knew reaching out for help, even contacting the Governor's office and state representatives for help. The ARC may be able to offer her some assistance, but it won't be enough.
Everyday life for Shirley Ford and her two girls is anything but easy. A simple trip to the dentist, requires a lot of work, but it's work she's chosen to do all their lives, because they are her life.
"Me and the good Lord's done a good job at least we think so, don't we Sheila Weila?" said Shirley Ford.
Her daughters, 37-year-old Sheila Gail and 42-year-old Teresa were born with Cerebral Palsy. Neither ever walked, and need close care and supervision, work Shirley insists doing herself.
"I just can't imagine it any other way. It's never been an option for them to be anywhere but home. They're mine and I want them at home."
And home has worked out well for her daughters. It's been a sacrifice of love. "I just did it. You just do what you gotta do, that's the long and the short of it."
But she just can't continue doing all the work herself. About three years ago, Shirley began receiving care from home health agencies. It was the first time she had ever reached out to others to do for her own, now she's reaching out again.
"I've called everybody, 'cause I didn't know what to do. It's something that you've got to have and you don't know where to begin."
Shirley, and now nurses have been giving her daughters baths in this garden tub, but it's too deep and too low to continue. She's been told she must now get a handicapped shower or her daughters will only receive bed baths.
So she's pleading for others to help, with their resources, their abilities and their money to help provide.
"It's been pretty rough, but I've never thought of asking for help for anything, but this is something that I need and I'm not ashamed to ask."
To continue to meet the needs of her very special girls. Ford got one estimate for a roll-in shower. It was for about $6,400, but that didn't include re enforcing the floors in the house, which is a mobile home.
If you're interested in helping Shirley Ford, you can give her a call at 229-698-2020.
©2010 WALB News. All rights reserved. Feedback
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 Worldnow and WALB, a Raycom Media Station. 
