Community builds home for veteran U.S. Paralympian

Both of his legs were amputated above the knee after he was severely injured when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his Humvee in 2003. His current home is hard to maneuver in with his prosthetic legs, so the veterans group, Home for Our Troops, gathered funds and materials from the community to give him a new home.

The main construction began Friday as a crane lifted up the trusses for the framers to attach. Dozens of workers were on the scene, wielding nail guns and cutting lumber, while other volunteers grilled hamburgers. They also finished up siding and roofing by the end of the weekend.

Calhoun noted wryly that no one had given him a hammer and put him to work.

So he spent the day greeting and thanking people who had come out to help from all over the state and the country. Many who showed up were veterans, like 76-year-old Jerry Nolan who drove from Niagara Falls, N.Y., to help a fellow Army Airborne soldier.

“It’s a fraternity. One you’re a paratrooper, you’re always a paratrooper,” Nolan said.

Calhoun’s recovery has been a long journey, but the 30-year-old has remained physically active and found new things he’s excelled at. He learned how to ski despite his injuries while recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He also plays golf and goes running and biking.

“I don’t spend a lot of time in a chair and I haven’t done that in a while,” he said.

But even with his prosthetic legs, stairs are difficult. It makes being a parent much harder. He must climb two steps to enter the family’s current rented house and a flight of stairs to reach his kids’ bedrooms.

“Stairs as a bilateral above-knee amputee are really difficult, and it yanks the motivation out of going up and telling the kids goodnight and tucking them into bed,” he said.

The new 2,500-square-foot, one-story home will have four bedrooms, a basement, a two-car garage and no stairs. The extra space will help accommodate the growing family and all of Calhoun’s sports equipment and other adaptive gear.

“I don’t just have one pair of legs; I have like four pairs of legs,” he said. “We’ve got prosthetic legs shoved into closets and under beds, just wherever we can get them.”

Jimmy Miller, a Clarksville general contractor who is helping to build the home, said it will include a variety of adaptive features to make it easier for Calhoun to get around.

They include a large roll-in shower, wider doors and entryways, tile and hardwood floors and electronic door openers and no steps.

Miller said the soldiers and families at Fort Campbell contribute so much to his community that taking the time and expense to build the home was a good way to give back.

“I thought it was a good way to thank them for what they do for us each and every day,” Miller said. “I think they are a very deserving family.”

After much of the construction is done this weekend, more workers will come back to install the electric, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems. Miller hopes the house will be ready for Calhoun and his family to move in by the middle of June.

It had already been a big week for Calhoun. Last Wednesday, he was among a group of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams visiting President Barack Obama at the White House.

This year Calhoun was selected to carry the flag for the U.S. Paralympic team during the opening ceremonies of the winter games in Vancouver. He placed eighth this year, but his wife, Tiffany, is pushing him to continue his training for the next winter Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.

“I got an eighth place, but I want a gold,” he said.