When Army Cpl. Nick Orchowski was lying on the side of the road after being thrown from a gunner’s hatch in Baghdad, he was disoriented and confused.
Now, he finds himself in a state of shock that he will be given an accessible home from the nonprofit Homes For Our Troops to be built by some 400 volunteers in Parker in October.
“There’s so many guys that deserve these homes, that could live from these homes, and I just take a step back and go, ‘Wow, we are truly blessed to have been even considered to be put in a home like this,’ ” said Orchowski, who was injured in May 2004.
After his long recovery and multiple surgeries, he is able to walk with braces, but his right arm is paralyzed, and getting up the stairs in his Commerce City home is difficult. His feet drag on the carpet and sometimes it can be hard to reach cabinets. So, his new home will be all on one level, about 2,000 square feet, no carpet, and the cabinets will roll down to him.
His wife, Jamie Orchowski said the fact they won’t have to pay a mortgage means they can save up for the futures of their two children: Mikayla, 6, and Colton, 2.
That was one of the blessings for Matt and Tracy Keil, whose home in Parker was built by Homes For Our Troops in 2008. Army Staff Sgt. Matt Keil is a quadriplegic. With their money they were able to afford in vitro fertilization so they could have children. They met the Orchowskis when Matt Keil was in rehab and Nick Orchowski was helping him out. Now, the Keils are helping the Orchowskis prepare for their new home.
“They led us the way down the road of injury, and now we’re able to show them the way through Homes for Our Troops,” Tracy Keil said.
Amy Holland, a Parker Town Council member and leader in the Cherry Creek Rotary Club of Parker, has helped organize the 300 members of the six Douglas County rotary clubs to help build the Orchowski house, one of the largest groups that Homes for Our Troops has seen.
“It’s just a matter of being able to give back to somebody in our own community who has sacrificed his life for this country,” Holland said.
Holland’s 13-year-old daughter, Tori, has organized Kids For Our Troops, which is raising money to help furnish the Orchowski children’s rooms.
“Going from Day One, not knowing what to expect in life, to this point of saying this is going to be your forever home, don’t worry about a thing, you’re not going to have to worry about a mortgage, focus on living your life and being a good father and a good husband, it’s just one of the biggest gifts,” Nick Orchowski said.
