War hero Alex Haworth's "coming home" has been a long and difficult journey with some unexpected twists.
After joining the National Guard, Alex was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. He left behind his wife Mallorie, a young woman he met while attending Olmsted Falls (Ohio) High School and who was pregnant with their first child.
While on foot patrol in the wartorn country, Alex fell victim to a young suicide bomber. The blast killed 30 people and severely injured Alex, leaving him with traumatic brain injury, a broken arm and leg, and multiple shrapnel wounds. He was sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. to begin a long and painful rehab.
Alex had to learn to walk and write all over again. Nine months passed before he could return to Cleveland to continue his recovery with Mallorie and their young girl, Emma. While Alex was on the mend, they craved a return to normalcy in their lives-lives that had literally been torn apart by the suicide bomb. They decided to buy a newly remodeled ranch home in Olmsted Falls and were excited to move in!
The excitement, however, quickly turned to terrible disappointment! Even though the home passed inspection, when they started moving in the Haworth's discovered hidden mold throughout the house. The city declared it "unlivable". The Haworth family was forced to move into Mallorie's mother's basement, unsure what their next step would be.
The next step, however, did not come from the Haworth's—it came from NEOPAT, the Northeast Ohio Foundation for Patriotism, who offered to help Alex as they have helped other armed service families in need of assistance. NEOPAT put together an A-Team of building contractors to tear down the old home and build a completely new one on the same property!
The team included USA Insulation, who donated its resources to install insulation in the home from top to basement. On August 29, 2014, three truckloads of equipment and a crew of eight installers arrived at the site. They accomplished the install in just one day!
Other contractors followed and the Haworth's hope to be able to move into their new home by the end of October.
Alex Haworth answered the call when his country needed help. NEOPAT, USA Insulation, and others answered the call when Alex needed help.
Good luck in your new "Home of the Brave", Alex!
PRESS RELEASE: USA Insulation Helps Build Home for Cleveland Soldier Wounded in Action
