BURLESON -- While Clyde Walker lay in a hospital bed in Maryland recuperating from surgery he hoped would improve his quality of life, friends and volunteers rolled up their sleeves to give his home an "extreme makeover" of sorts.
"I am overwhelmed," Walker said as he described how his dilapidated mobile home now has a freshly painted interior, new carpeting in the living room and a new floor in the kitchen. And the work is not yet finished.Ken Olsen, who owns Bennett Building Systems in Burleson, said he's known Walker for 30 years and was aware that his friend needed help. He's been leading a gang of volunteers who have descended on the home to make it a better place to live."Clyde is not a guy who built 30 years worth of real estate or annuities, but he did spend 30 years being a good guy and a good friend," he said.A debilitating maladyWalker, 50, suffers from a rare condition called Chiari malformation, which prevents cerebrospinal fluid from circulating properly. Some forms of Chiari are mild, but in Walker's case the pressure on his spinal cord was causing other complications, such as difficulty walking, swallowing food and breathing.As a result, he was chosen to participate in a five-year National Institutes of Health study so doctors could gather more data about the condition, which affects 1 in 10,000 people. Last month Walker flew to Bethesda, Md., where doctors removed bone from the base of his skull, creating more space for the fluid to circulate.Before the operation, MRI scans showed that no fluid was circulating, but a week after his surgery, Walker said, scans showed that it is flowing again.Walker doesn't know whether his pain will diminish or whether he will still have partial paralysis as a result of nerve damage caused by his condition, but he's optimistic that he won't get worse.But doctors felt that Walker was doing well enough to return home June 27 -- a week earlier than expected -- so he was surprised to find his friends working feverishly to fix up his home so it would be ready when he returned."Everyone made a great attempt to keep it under the wire," he said.Worry turns to actionOlsen was concerned about his friend because of his debilitating illness."I could see him going downhill rapidly to the point where he couldn't even do anything. He was hurting moneywise, but was still trying. Clyde and I talked about disability benefits, but he wouldn't go for that," he said.Walker's condition was making it difficult for him to maintain his auto repair business. He lost his home and moved to the mobile home that he had rented out to tenants who had promised to make repairs in lieu of rent but had left it in shambles. Walker said he started fixing it up but didn't have the stamina to complete the work.Olsen said he contacted other contractors and friends, and they are working on everything from mowing the high weeds to installing siding, repairing plumbing and painting.Robert Haynes, another friend of Walker's, is also involved in the project.Haynes, who owns All Action Water Extraction and Carpet Cleaning, said he talked to Walker's daughter, Nikki, about what he needed."We can't afford to do what the Extreme Makeover people do, but we are trying to help," he said.Haynes said he has been mowing and helping with other repairs. This week, a volunteer is pouring concrete for a back porch, and a carpenter is installing siding.Nikki Walker said she is grateful to the community for the outpouring of support for her father."I was telling a few people that I needed the yard mowed and the driveway fixed. ... Things just happened from there. It's pretty cool," she said.Elizabeth Campbell,817-390-7696Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
