War Veteran Awarded New Home in Chapin
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CHAPIN, SC (WOLO)- An injured soldier was awarded a specially adapted home by a nonprofit organization on Saturday in Chapin.
The Homes For Our Troops organization awarded a home to Army Sergeant Robert Barber.
On June 20, 2012, SGT Barber was conducting operations with the 133rd Military Police Company in Khost, Afghanistan, when a suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device (IED). The blast resulted in the loss of his right leg and severe damage to his left leg.
Barber’s new home features more than 40 major special adaptations such as widened doorways for wheelchair access, a roll-in shower, and kitchen amenities that include pull-down shelving and lowered counter tops. The home will also alleviate the mobility and safety issues associated with a traditional home, including navigating a wheelchair through narrow hallways or over thresholds, riding on carpets, or reaching for cabinets that are too high.
“There’s a lot of thought that goes into it, I can’t list them all off the top of my head, but if you walk through the house you’ll see the microwave is lower where you can reach it, the light switches are lower where you can reach it from the wheelchair,” Barber said. “I mean just everything you can think of.”
Now medically retired, Barber loves spending time in the outdoors, riding his motorcycle and taking his two sons and daughter to baseball games with his wife Heather. He would eventually like to start hunting and hand cycling. He plans to return to college when he receives his specially adapted home.
