Melton business owners and a network of helpers have showered good fortune on an Eynesbury family who have had a tough year.
Phil and Samantha Trenerry were left out of pocket more than $10,000 after a dispute that wound up at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal earlier this year.
The family was left with an unfinished deck to the backyard that would have improved accessibility for their nine-year-old son Cadel who has a disability and is wheelchair-bound.
The deck was eventually built with money they had set aside for much-needed bathroom renovations.
In July, Steve and Tania Montebello, owners of Monte’s Kitchen Cabinets, offered to complete the bathroom renovation for free after reading about the Trenerry’s plight in the Star Weekly.
“We read the story and I got a bit upset that this was a family that has had a tough time,” Ms Montebello said.
She said community groups and relatives pitched in with man hours and donations.
“We just thought that we wanted to help them in any way we could,” Ms Montebello said.
“We donated as much as we could in terms of our time and the products, a whole heap of donations from the community like tapware, paint, sink, rails and cabinets.
“We didn’t do it for the publicity … we knew it would help a family out and we wanted to see them happy.
“We’ve made lifelong friends with them as well.”
Cadel was born premature and has spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, chronic epilepsy and is intellectually disabled.
“It was to the point where my wife couldn’t bathe him in the bathroom because of his [Cadel’s] size,” Mr Trenerry said.
“We weren’t able to utilise the hoist before and now we can. Cadel recently had surgery and the renovation meant that we could bring him home from the hospital much earlier.
“We couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone that pitched in.
In July, Steve and Tania Montebello, owners of Monte’s Kitchen Cabinets, offered to complete the bathroom renovation for free after reading about the Trenerry’s plight in the Star Weekly“It’s restored our faith in humanity.”
