Love under construction

Life for East County’s Callie Parker was going to plan.

Together with her husband, Bob, they were building a new home on Waterline Road themselves, and living out of a trailer on the property while they were completing the job.

Then everything literally came to a crashing halt.

Driving north along Rye Road, just north of 15th Drive East, on the evening of Feb. 21, Parker’s Toyota Avalon and an Acura MDX driven by Bradenton’s Lauren Schwartz were involved in a head-on collision, the driver’s side fronts of both cars coming into contact and causing both cars to spin.

Parker, who was returning home after picking up groceries, was the more seriously injured and was transported to Blake Medical Center with a broken hip. A Florida Highway Patrol report said neither driver was being cited due to lack of evidence, and neither driver was under suspicion for driving while impaired or distracted.

Bob Parker was at home, coordinating installation of their kitchen counters when his wife’s father, Ron Jones, told him Callie was in an accident. Ron and Ruthie Jones live next door.

“My heart fell to the floor,” Bob Parker said. “I was so scared. We jumped in my truck and drove down Waterline Road, where we saw the lights from the police.”

Bob Parker stopped on the shoulder and ran to his wife, who was covered in glass. She was in pain and unable to move her legs.

She was taken by helicopter to Blake Medical Center.

“It did not feel good at all,” Callie Parker said March 6 from her hospital bed. “It was pretty awful, actually.”

Since then, Callie Parker has been working her way through a painful recovery. After being stabilized, she was transferred to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and then transferred to a rehabilitation center.

Her neighbors and friends, meanwhile, have come to the aid of her family.

On the morning of March 4, about a dozen people were scurrying around the Parkers’ future home, determined to finish Bob’s and Callie’s project.

“It’s overwhelming love,” Callie Parker said. “It’s hard to process. I know we love a lot of people and a lot of people love us.”

They cut trim, painted walls and cleaned base boards in the hope they can finish the home before Callie’s release from the hospital.

They said they wanted her first night to be spent in a house, and not the camper behind it.

“Our ultimate goal is to finish it and make it feel like home, so when she comes home, everyone can focus on healing and getting better,” said friend Amanda Chandler. “Callie has a huge heart. Her joy is so infectious when people see a need for a person like that, they want to help.”

Callie and Bob have been building the four-bedroom house for the past two years and were just weeks away from getting the certificate of occupancy at the time of the crash. They’ve lived in the camper in the meantime with their two children, Bella, 8, and Younger, 5.

Chandler said the camper isn’t suitable for Callie Parker’s recovery, so all her friends were trying their best to finish the home.

James Losee, a home designer who has taken on the role of project manager, has been working at the site on weekends and after work each day. He estimated 40 to 50 people have been on-site in the past two weeks to help complete the house.

“People who don’t even know the family have bought items or donated their time,” he said.

Even children have been taking on jobs to get everything done.

Callie, a mail carrier, attended Lakewood Ranch High School at the same time as Chandler, although the girls were two grades apart. Callie graduated in 2004.

They knew of each other, but didn’t become friends until they reconnected years later through a church that no longer exists.

Chandler, a Braden Woods resident, was on vacation at Walt Disney World when she started getting messages about Callie Parker’s car crash. She and her family headed home.

“I started with, ‘What can I do?’” Chandler said. “I came home and picked up her kids from school.”

A gofundme.com campaign began to raise funds for the family’s medical expenses and to finish work on their house. In less than a week, it had generated nearly $11,000.

Friend Lori Sudsberry created an account on SignUpGenius.com, which allows people to virtually post and coordinate requests for supplies or volunteers.

Friends have taken turns picking up Bella and Younger from school, while Bob Parker works overtime as a welder to meet his family’s needs.

“We put the needs out there, and they’ve slowly but surely been met,” Chandler said. “Callie can’t talk to me without crying. She’s overwhelmed with the people God has brought to help her and their generosity.”

Friends and people the Parkers don’t even know have donated new and used fans and fixtures, bedding, beds and other items. Volunteers have even done electrical work and performed yard work.

Callie Parker said each fixture and decoration will serve as a picture of love.

Her friends said they were happy to help.

“We’re all relieved she’s going to be OK,” said Deron Hurley, as he worked on electrical wiring in the garage. “They were so close to getting the house done.”

“All of us want to give back to her and her family what she’s given to us,” said Julie Cook, as she sat cross-legged screwing an outlet cover into the wall on Saturday morning. “She walks in a room and lights it up.”

COPY

Life for East County's Callie Parker was going to plan.

Together with her husband, Bob, they were building a new home on Waterline Road themselves, and living out of a trailer on the property while they were completing the job.

Then everything literally came to a crashing halt.

Driving north along Rye Road, just north of 15th Drive East, on the evening of Feb. 21, Parker's Toyota Avalon and an Acura MDX driven by Bradenton's Lauren Schwartz were involved in a head-on collision, the driver's side fronts of both cars coming into contact and causing both cars to spin.

Parker, who was returning home after picking up groceries, was the more seriously injured and was transported to Blake Medical Center with a broken hip. A Florida Highway Patrol report said neither driver was being cited due to lack of evidence and neither driver was under suspicion for driving while impaired or distracted.

Bob Parker was at home, coordinating installation of their kitchen counters when wife's father, Ron Jones, told him Callie was in an accident. Ron and Ruthie Jones live next door.

“My heart feel to the floor,” Bob Parker said. “I was so scared. We jumped in my truck and drove down Waterline Road, where we saw the lights from the police.”

Bob Parker parked on the shoulder and ran to his wife, who was covered in glass. She was in pain and unable to move her legs.

She was then taken by helicopter to Blake Medical Center.

“It did not feel good at all,” Callie Parker said March 6 from her hospital bed. “It was pretty awful actually.”

Since then, Callie Parker has been working her way through a painful recovery. After being stabilized, she was transferred to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where she is expected to remain for a least another week.

Meanwhile, her neighbors and friends have come to the aid of her family.

On the morning of March 4, about a dozen people were scurrying around the Parker's future home, determined to finish Bob's and Callie's project.

“It’s overwhelming love,” said Callie Parker from her hospital bed. “It’s hard to process. I know we love a lot of people and a lot of people love us.”

They cut trim, painted walls and cleaned base boards in the hope they could finish the home before Callie's first night out of the hospital.

They said they wanted her first night to be spent in a house, and not the camper behind it.

“Our ultimate goal is to finish it and make it feel like home, so when she comes home, everyone can focus on healing and getting better,” said friend Amanda Chandler.  “Callie has a huge heart. Her joy is so infectious when people see a need for a person like that, they want to help.”

Callie and Bob have been building the four-bedroom house for the last two years and were just weeks away from getting the certificate of occupancy at the time of the accident. They’ve lived in the camper in the meantime with their two children, Bella, 8, and 5-year-old Younger. 

Chandler said the camper isn’t suitable for Callie Parker’s recovery, so all her friends were trying their best to finish the home.

James Losee, a home designer who has taken on the role of project manager, has been working at the site on weekends and after work each day. He estimated 40 to 50 people have been on site in the last two weeks to help complete the house.

“People who don’t even know the family have bought items or donated their time,” he said.

Even children have been taking on jobs to get everything done.

Callie, a mail carrier, attended Lakewood Ranch High School at the same time as Chandler, although the girls were two grades apart. Callie graduated in 2004.

They knew of each other, but didn’t become friends until they reconnected years later through a church that no longer exists.

Chandler, a Braden Woods resident, was on vacation at Disney World when she started getting messages about Callie Parker’s accident. She and her family headed home.

“I started with, ‘What can I do?” Chandler said. “I came home and picked up her kids from school.”

A gofundme.com campaign began to raise funds for the family’s medical expenses and to finish work on their house. In less than a week, it had generated nearly $11,000.

Friend Lori Sudsberry created an account on SignUpGenius.com, which allows people to virtually post and coordinate requests for supplies or volunteers.

Friends have taken turns picking up Bella and Younger from school, while Bob Parker works overtime as a welder to meet his family’s needs.

“We put the needs out there, and they’ve slowly but surely been met,” Chandler said. “Callie can’t talk to me without crying. She’s overwhelmed with the people God has brought to help her and their generosity.”

Friends along with people the Parkers don't even know have donated new and used fans and fixtures, bedding, beds and other items. Volunteers have cut trim, done electrical work and performed yard work. 

Callie Parker said each fixture and decoration will serve as a picture of love.

Her friends said they were happy to help.

“We’re all relieved she’s going to be OK,” said friend Deron Hurley, as he worked on electrical cords in the garage. “They were so close to getting the house done.”

“All of us want to give back to her and her family what she’s given to us,” said Julie Cook, as she sat cross-legged screwing an electrical cover into the wall on Saturday morning. “She walks in a room and lights it up.”

Bob Parker said friends and family have eased the family’s burdens and made a difficult situation easier to handle.

“It’s been a crazy journey and it’s not over yet, and we can’t wait for her to come home and actually come home to our house,” Bob Parker said. “Building a house is no cup of tea and then this final stretch of getting everything done and how everybody is helping out is truly a blessing. I’m just so thankful for everybody. It’s hard to put into words how blessed we are.”