Dalton and Wyatt Eisenhardt are two very special little boys who live in a very special little town.
Dalton, now 10 years old, was born with a rare genetic disorder called translocation chromosome 15.
Doctors told parents Vicki and Webb that Dalton would only live for two weeks. They also assured them that their chances of having another child with the same disorder were slim to none.
But when Wyatt was born two years later, the unthinkable happened: he was diagnosed with the same disorder.
The boys have both lived long beyond their doctors’ expectations, although the disease has left them with many limitations. They require 24-hour nursing care; the disorder has affected every organ of their bodies and they have no sense of touch or fear. They are very susceptible to illness and lung damage has left them unable to speak. They breathe through permanent tracheotomy tubes and eat with feeding tubes.
But even through all of their hospital and doctors visits, treatments and illnesses Dalton and Wyatt are still two happy little boys. Their infectious smiles brighten up the house and Eisenhardt says everyone who sees them can tell that they are a blessing. “They said the boys wouldn’t live long,” she says. “They’re here because of God.”
Eisenhardt describes one especially memorable hospital visit: “Both boys were in the ICU one time,” she says. “And when I walked in they were in two beds, side by side. They were there in the hospital all hooked up and they weren’t complaining. They were just signing away to each other, still happy.”
While Wyatt and Dalton’s parents and big brother Tyler, 15, feel blessed to still have the youngsters with them, they have been feeling cramped and confined in the small house the family rents on East Main Street in Machias.
Wyatt and Dalton are home schooled. Their five teachers for occupational and physical therapy, speech and sign language, plus their numerous nurses and the machines necessary to keep them alive fill up the small, three-bedroom home.
The family had to build a partition in their living room to create a small schoolroom/storeroom.
But the family won’t be confined to the cramped space for much longer.
The American Legion Post 1460 in Machias has teamed up with the Christian Youth Corps to give the Eisenhardts a way out.
The First Christian Church of Machias owned an old home next door to the church that needed to be demolished. A new house is now being built in its place for the Eisenhardts.
According to Christian Youth Corps Director Pete Andrews, the site will still be the church parsonage and will be rent and tax free for the duration of the boys’ medical needs.
ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was contacted initially about doing a show but since the family rents, not owns, their current home, the project was eventually turned down.
Andrews says, “While I understand why they can’t help, it’s too bad. We lost a great deal of time hoping for help from [the show].”
It took workers just one day to move the 3,800-square-foot house onto the new site on Nov. 4, just minutes from where the family currently lives.
The new home will provide the family with their desperately needed storage as well as a schoolroom for the boys, a nurse’s station and a therapy room. Plus, Tyler gets his own room complete with a flat screen TV donated especially for his use. The family will also finally have a real living room.
The Christian Youth Corps has raised support and funds to provide a new septic system, contractors and people do the work. “People from all over the country are donating money to the Eisenhardt Fund,” says Andrews. “We’ll get a $2 donation from an old lady in Arkansas and then we’ll get a $1,000 donation.”
“They don’t have to do anything,” Eisenhardt adds. “They just want to help and we appreciate everything.” When the Christian Youth Corps came to her door and proposed building a new house, she was floored. “I thought they were joking,” she said. “This is something we couldn’t even have dreamed about.” An addition onto the old home was considered but abandoned since such an improvement would raise the family’s rent.
Wyatt and Dalton are very excited about moving to their new home. Mom says they were thrilled to be able to see the house for the first time. “I couldn’t get them to leave,” she says. “They wanted to move right in.”
Andrews says the family’s new place should be move-in ready by Thanksgiving. “And then we’ll have a great big move-in party,” he says.
Dalton, who loves dressing up in his pirate and firemen costumes and who wants to be a fireman someday and Wyatt, who loves his drum set and enjoys riding horses, are finally getting enough room to breathe.
Donations can be sent to the Sunshine Fund, American Legion Post 1460, P.O. Box 274, Machias, NY 14101, call Andrews at 716-560-8295 or visit www.christianyouthcorps.bfn.org.