Our homes are meant to be our safe havens, but sometimes, life changes in an instant and forces us to look at those spaces differently. For Susan Wendel—now our Vice President—that sudden shift happened just days after Christmas in December 2009.
Her spunky, intelligent 7-year-old daughter, Charlotte, suddenly began slurring her speech. Within just 10 hours of rushing her to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Charlotte lost her ability to walk, stand, and speak, eventually slipping into a coma.
Following months in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Charlotte was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune syndrome called anti-nmda receptor encephalitis. A beautiful little girl who loved to swim butterfly, play piano, and make everyone laugh suddenly required a ventilator, a breathing tube, and a feeding tube.
The Turning Point: Overcoming the Impossible
By May 2010, after four grueling months in ICU, Charlotte’s condition finally stabilized enough for the hospital to discuss discharge plans. But Susan faced an agonizing dilemma:
“Could she come home? That seemed impossible. I didn’t have the facilities necessary to care for her at home.”
The alternative was a pediatric nursing home, but Susan’s deepest wish was to bring her daughter back to the family. That’s when community, faith, and love stepped in.
Modifying a Home, Restoring a Family
Seeing the immense burden on this single mom, the community refused to let her carry it alone. In an incredible display of faith and action, the friends and families of New Hanover United Methodist Church rallied together, raising an astounding $30,770.19 to completely transform Susan’s home environment.
A team of volunteers and local partners went to work to ensure the space was safe, accessible, and fully prepared for Charlotte’s extensive medical needs:
- A Room of Her Own: Converted Susan’s first-floor office into a bright, girly pink bedroom for Charlotte.
- Full Accessibility: Remodeled a powder room and garage bay into a fully tiled, handicapped-accessible bathroom and shower.
- Safety Infrastructure: Installed a wheelchair lift for easy entry and a backup power generator to ensure Charlotte’s life-sustaining medical equipment would never power down.
Thanks to this incredible outpouring of support, on September 17, 2010—after 265 consecutive days in the hospital—Charlotte finally came home.
The Birth of Happy 2 be Home
Charlotte’s story is the very heartbeat of why Happy 2 be Home was born. In fact, the “2” in our name directly honors our first two founding children, Charlotte and Nathan.
Seeing firsthand how a community can wrap its arms around a family to lift the weight of home modifications inspired us to do this for others. Our mission is simple: to come alongside families of children with multiple disabilities, bearing one another’s burdens, and modifying their environments so they can focus on what matters most—loving and caring for their children safely at home.
Welcome home, Charlotte! You are the reason we do what we do.
To see Charlotte’s full journey and hear Susan share their story in her own words, you can Watch Charlotte’s Story on YouTube.
