Natural Health and Herbal Remedies Blog

Although rare in our society, several families or generations sometimes live together, whether by economic necessity or by choice. In this arrangement, accommodations and modifications for the person with spinal injury must be agreed to by all involved, and you’ll have to educate family members about your needs. On the other hand, you’ll have more thinking power and perhaps more willing hands to get things done.

The story of siblings Naomi Shoemaker and Jason Fleckenstein provides an inspiring example of intergenerational living.

Naomi and Jason were young adults with children of their own when they were injured in separate, unrelated car accidents, about two and a half years apart. Both injuries resulted in quadriplegia. Naomi, separated from her husband at the time of the accident, moved with her three children into her parents’ home. Jason, separated from his wife, was already living there. His six-year-old son visited the family after school, returning to his mother’s house at night.

Naomi and Jason’s parents, Victor and Patsy, provide a home for their adult children and their grandchildren, and Patsy acts as personal care attendant. Victor works full time and helps out at home in the evenings. Living under one roof saves money on resources that would have to be duplicated if Naomi and Jason lived alone. The family borrowed money to install a basement exit and indoor wheelchair lift for Jason’s basement quarters, as well as an outside backup lift.

After the first newspaper article about their unusual situation, the family was flooded with donations from strangers and from acquaintances in the community. Victor’s union organized a four-state fund drive and set up a trust fund to provide for Naomi’s and Jason’s care when their parents are no longer able to do so. The union local also secured donations from an anonymous benefactor, including a small bus to transport the multigenerational family and a voice-activated computer to help Jason and Naomi explore home-based business opportunities.

This ordinary working-class family has met unusual adversity with a “can-do” attitude. With the help of their community, they’ve turned a potentially tragic situation into an opportunity for mutual support and growth. Though Naomi and Jason depend on their own parents for physical assistance, they are able to be full parents for their own children, providing love, guidance, teaching, discipline, help with homework, and setting of limits. All family members, including the children, help out as much as they can. With the physical and emotional contributions of each generation, and the economic and practical assistance of their community, this family has made multigenerational living work.

*135/156/5*