Community pitches in to make home wheelchair friendly

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- "Sometimes I just think how great it would be if I could walk," 9-year-old Kyla Tracy said.

Tracy has a brittle bone disease and relies on a wheelchair to get around.

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But her Raleigh home is not wheelchair-friendly.

"It's really, really hard because there's not enough space," Tracy said. "It's just closed in everywhere."

"It's just not truly safe," her father Jared Tracy said. "She could fall over. It could be something as simple as just missing where she places her hand or anything like that. Even a small fall can do a lot of damage."

A neighbor heard about this and is turning the Tracy's carport into a wheelchair-accessible apartment complete with a bedroom, closet, bathroom and kitchenette. Local businesses are chipping in by donating supplies and labor.

Kyla already has big plans for the space.

"I'm probably gonna put all my toys in there," she said.

"To have her to be able to be independent and to be safe," her father said. "That's everything to me. So to have this.. I get choked up about it. It's awesome."

Her father expected to pay for the $12,000 AC and heating system needed for the apartment. But the invoice from Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning had this message:

"We're more than honored to present you with a complete HVAC (heating and air conditioning system) at no charge as long as we can all get a hug."

"That was pretty amazing," Jared Tracy said.

"As soon as you meet her she grabs your heart," said Everett Chandler, of Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning. He and his coworker, Mike Geraci, are already cashing in on those hugs.

Kyla keeps warming hearts with her outgoing, larger than life personality.

She has a message for everybody who's helped.

"If I can say to all of them at once, 'thank you!'" she said.

Kyla's family is still trying to save up for a wheel-chair accessible van for her. They've set up a GoFundMe account.

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