Students reach out to family in Machias

Forty-five minutes up Route 16 in Machias live the Eisenhardts, a family affected by an exceedingly rare disorder. Dalton, 10, and Wyatt, 8, suffer from the transmutation of chromosome 15. Jim Mahar, associate professor of finance and coordinator of BonaResponds, said the boys need breathing tubes in their necks. They can't speak, and they have breathing problems. The disorder makes them easily susceptible to lung infections.

Due to medical expenses, the family could not afford a house suitable for proper health care. The community, along with Christian Youth Corps (CYC), the American Legion and the First Christian Church of Machias pulled together to help. On Oct. 14, volunteers broke ground for a brand-new house. BonaResponds has been helping ever since.

"Plans call for a house with 3,800 square feet, providing room for the brothers to continue therapy and be schooled at home, plus enough storage for their many medical supplies, space for the nurses who provide around-the-clock care and a little privacy for big brother Tyler, 15," according to an Oct. 19 article in The Buffalo News.

Bonaventure students took part in the construction.

"We wrapped the house and basement in Tyvek, insulated, poured cement, removed nails, readied the house for drywall and helped move a fence," Mahar said.

But for the student volunteers, the trip was much more than just construction.

"We're not just building a house, we're working on these boys' lives," said Rob Ryer, a junior physical education major.

Regular BonaResponds volunteers went to participate in a service trip, but after meeting Dalton and Wyatt, they agreed it was much more meaningful.

"It was emotional," said Emily Deragon, a sophomore journalism and mass communication major. "It's not just their house - it's their school and the place of their physical therapy."

The boys lifted spirits and even helped out, along with the family and the rest of the community.

"We had the boys help and had them snap chalk lines," said Steve Gearhart, a junior physics major.

Deragon added, "They helped bring up boards and staple Tyvek."

Mahar noted Amanda Kotz, a children's literature graduate student, as someone who befriended the boys easily.

"They are like normal kids - except happier," Kotz said. "They've been through so much. They love the attention and being around girls."

Dalton and Wyatt communicate through sign language because they have extreme difficulties breathing and swallowing.

"The signs they frequently used were 'friends' and 'girl,'" said Kotz. "I couldn't be there one Sunday. I was told they were signing for me. It broke my heart."

Mahar said he wished he could communicate better with the boys.

"I'm upset I don't sign more, but I learned a lot from them," Mahar said.

On a day BonaResponds was not there, another school reported the boys signing the letters "B.R." as a way of asking "Where's Bonaventure?" Ryer said.

The volunteer groups hope to finish the house by Thanksgiving, but Mahar thinks they will finish the week after. If there are no delays, the family will definitely move in by Christmas.

There have been five dates Bonaventure students have worked on the Eisenhardt's house, including an emergency date on Tuesday night.

"They weren't ready for the drywall needed, so we came for some emergency work," Kotz said.

Kotz, Ryer and Gearhart left St. Bonaventure at 5:15 p.m. to work in Machias.

"BonaResponds volunteers are awesome! Have 6 or 7 going on no notice ." tweeted Mahar on the BonaResponds Twitter account (@bonaresponds), which he updates frequently.

The trips to Machias have included as many as 20 volunteers, but average closer to 10 people per trip, Mahar said.

"Getting people to take time out of their day is the hardest part," Mahar said. "But it's good work. I feel sorry for people who don't go."

BonaResponds worked with CYC, which does a lot of local construction jobs. The group, headed by Pete Anders, was started in 2002 "as a place for young people to join others in an organized effort to make a positive impact in western New York," according to christianyouthcorps.bfn.org.

"I hope to be long-term partners with them," Mahar said.

Gearhart expressed respect for Anders.

"He's very organized and down to earth," Gearhart said. "He has an apartment which he rents out to people so they don't have to go back to their situation . like a halfway house."

BonaResponds hopes to return to the Eisenhardts on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Interested volunteers should meet behind the Murphy Professional Building. For more information, pictures and video, visit the BonaResponds blog at bonaresponds.org.

"Just go there," Gearhart urged. "You'll feel good, and that's the main point."

lindneej@sbu.edu