Jimmy Rodgers and Builders Care help renovate Amputee's sinking home

Westcoast Structural was proud to be a part of the renovation of amputee Diane Schroeder's San Carlos Park house in early February 2015. Diane Schroeder was not able to her bathroom due to her wheelchair sinking in her bathroom, forcing her to take baths on the lanai with a garden hose. As a member of the board of directors for Builders Care, the nonprofit arm of the Lee County Building Association, Jimmy Rodgers, president and owner of Westcoast Structural Concrete & Masonary participated in the project to make her bathroom handicap accessible by Lee County Department of Human Services after the $10,000 foundation repair is completed. Schroeder has lived in this home for 35 years. In recent years, she has experienced many difficult circumstances that began with complications from a knee replacement in 2008 that led to an infection and 10 days in the hospital. Since then, she has had four knee replacements on the same leg and 17 additional surgeries leading to the recent amputation of her leg above the knee. She spent months in a rehabilitation clinic learning to use mobility tools to adjust to her new way of life, and is still experiencing complications today. She also lost her husband to lung cancer in 2009. Guests included Jimmy and Linda Rodgers, representing the charity Builders Care; longtime friends Jenny and Ken Ebeck of Jamaica Bay; Carol Young of Amputee Clinic in Fort Myers; Bruce Gaboury, a housing rehabilitation specialist with the Lee County Department of Human Resources; and dozens of friends and family. "We're happy she's back in a safe, happy home," Jenny Ebeck said. Jimmy Rodgers, who also owns Westcoast Structural of Fort Myers, said through Builders Care, the construction industry has helped Southwest Florida families by providing nearly $3 million worth of work in the past eight years. Builders Care members provided the materials, poured a new foundation and sidewalk and helped renovate Schroeder's bathroom. "We take so many things for granted," Rodgers said, "walking into the house, into the bathroom."