Hardin County veteran and family receive home makeover

RINEYVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Nearly twenty years in the military took its toll on Jeremiah Lucas' family. A tumor removal surgery on his spine took an even bigger toll on him.

Barely able to walk from nerve damage, the Master Sergeant had never even made the trip upstairs in the family's Rineyville, Kentucky home. But when Jeremiah got assistance to travel the stairs on Monday, he couldn't believe his eyes.

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Dawn Lucas wrote an essay to WAVE 3 News and Active Heroes, hoping to win a bedroom makeover for Jeremiah's two daughters. The family had moved time and time again and spent so much time without Jeremiah at home. It worked. The Lucases were among three families selected.

Every deployment, every birthday missed, this makes it all worthwhile, said Dawn Lucas.

Jeremiah couldn't even speak when he saw the transformation of his girls' rooms. New furniture. Fancy electronics. Their smiling faces. Made my kids' year," said Jeremiah. "I can't explain how excited they are and how much that means to me."

Paul Davis Restoration built a wheelchair ramp so Jeremiah won't need help getting into his house any more. That gives him the independence to come and go without help.

A new dishwasher from Charlie Wilson's Appliance makes kitchen work easier for Dawn. But it's those upstairs rooms that left their daughters gasping for words and ready to throw a party with their friends in their new stylish digs.

They ain't getting this room," Jeremiah joked. "I'm gonna keep it. But you could tell this was one veteran who will gladly cede that territory without putting up a fight.

The Lucas family says after all that moving as Jeremiah served his country, their newly upgraded home in Rineyville is their permanent home.

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Hardin County veteran and family receive home makeover