By Bruce Warren

Journal Staff Writer

Miracles can happen in ways that we least expect and in ways that we may not recognize. Such is the case with the Wadell family, who needed a special bathroom for their daughter Jamie, who was left a quadriplegic after a serious automobile accident two years ago.

The least inexpensive quote that father Mike Wadell obtained to have his bathroom renovated was $10,000. Then, he searched through the phone book’s Yellow Pages and found Mark Gentry of Mark Gentry Remodeling in Meadow Vista.

When Gentry visited the Waddell home off of Ophir Road just south of Auburn, Mike Waddell figured he would just be getting an estimate.

“When Mark came, he was the one who mentioned donating his time and getting other contractors to help,” Waddell said.

Gentry decided to donate his labor to make this bathroom into what is becoming an offering of love. Gentry started the project this week, and estimates his labor, which will span over five days, would cost $5,000.

Daltile on Airpark Court in Auburn donated tiles for the project and Aquatic Whirlpools donated a pump for the tub, valued at about $200, Gentry said.

The project includes putting in a sloped 6-by-6 foot shower with a ramp leading to it, installing a waterproof membrane on the floor and walls, putting up the tile and installing a pump for the tub.

“Basically, the bathroom will become one big shower,” Gentry said.

Gentry gets help on the project from Scott White, too. Both are members of Sonrise Church in Auburn, and have volunteered for other construction projects, which benefited others in Mississippi and Mexico.

Jamie Waddell’s accident happened on March 5, 2006, while riding in the passenger side of the family’s Honda Civic. The family car was struck by a sport utility vehicle on Highway 49 at Atwood Road.

The accident left Jamie with a fractured pelvis, collapsed lung, brain trauma and at times she went in and out of a coma.

“Jamie is basically full quadriplegic with some movement,” Mike Waddell said.

Since injuring his back in a work-related injury with FedEx, Mike Waddell has not been able to work and his wife Renee gave up a position at a childcare center in order to take care of her daughter, which has become a round-the-clock operation.

Mike Waddell sleeps from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., and then wakes up to care for his daughter, as his wife sleeps from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Jamie Waddell cannot speak and can only communicate through facial expressions. She can only go outdoors in milder weather with the highest temperature being 75, her mother said.

She currently gets speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. For five hours weekly, a teacher from a school for disabled children comes over to help with fine motor skills.

“It’s going to take a long time for her to heal,” Renee Waddell said. “But since she’s gotten the puppy (Gizmo), she’s been moving her arms to pet him.”

When asked how she has been coping for the past two years, Renee Waddell does not hesitate or blink her eyes.

“That’s my baby. You just do what you gotta do. I can’t imagine life without her,” she said.

The Journal’s Bruce Warren can be reached at brucew@goldcountrymedia.com, or comment at AuburnJournal.com

For those wanting to help out, the “Jamie Waddell Special Needs Fund” has been set up at the Umpqua Bank on 500 Auburn Folsom Rd., which can be reached at 530-887-8182, or the Umpqua Bank at 11795 Atwood Rd., at 530-887-3686. Checks can be made out to the Jamie Waddell Fund, according to a representative from the Umpqua Bank.