Christmas is less than two months away but Adele Sidock said a few weeks ago she received the best Christmas gift that was ever given to her.
But the present didn’t come from Santa Claus, rather from what Sidock says were “angels” from Christmas in October, an annual program that helps preserve and revitalize houses in the city of Chula Vista.
About 30 Christmas in October volunteers consisting of police officers, firefighters, city staff and community members spent a recent Saturday remodeling Sidock’s home, making it handicap-friendly and in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The volunteers capped off a waterheater, extended the length of a bathroom doorway so a wheelchair could fit, installed two air conditioning units and are in the process of replacing a tub, among many other repairs.
Sidock, 65, and her husband Thomas, 64, have lived at their home on Halsey Street for more than 20 years. For the first time in those two decades they needed to accommodate their home for a wheelchair and a medical bed.
On April 26, about a year away from Thomas’s retirement from his job as a technology specialist at a law firm, the couple’s life changed drsastically.
“We were doing great,” Sidock said. “He had close to a six-figure job and we were going to spend retirement together.”
Thomas spent that morning in the garage fixing up a motorized bicycle, a hobby of his.
After replacing a part Thomas got on the motorized bike for a test run around the block.
But Thomas left on the bike without his helmet, which Sidock said was unusual because he always took his helmet with him when he rode.
Sidock patiently waited for Thomas’s return. As hours passed, Sidock waited.
With her patience running thin, Sidock called the Chula Vista Police Department who informed her that they picked up Thomas on King Street as a John Doe and transported him to UCSD Medical Center for head trauma.
Arriving at the hospital Sidock said she saw her husband of 18 years lifeless in a coma.
“I thought he was going to die, I really did,” she said.
Thomas’s injuries were so serious he had to be transferred to three different hospitals before being released to a covalescent home, Sidock said.
Thomas returned home on Oct. 18 where he remains bed-ridden and suffering from memory loss.
“His memory from the day of the accident back to his birth is gone,” Sidock said.
Patty Prescott, a longtime friend, saw Sidock needed some help taking care of Thomas, so she referred Sidock to the Christmas in October program, even helping fill out the application.
“She is a very deserving person,” Prescott said. “I’m glad they’re (Christmas in October) able to make her life a little easier, but more importantly to make Thomas’s life a little easier.”
