Quadriplegic's Family Struggling to Keep Customized Home

PALOS PARK, IL — A local family is scrambling to come up with the money needed to save their home — one customized to accommodate their quadriplegic son.

The Bezanis family has been renting to own the home and planned to buy it. Though not truly theirs yet, Roula and Paul Bezanis have made it a safe place for their son Nikolas, 28, to be since he suffered a life-altering injury eight years ago.

Now they find themselves with one month to raise the money to keep their home. Local fundraising efforts have drummed up $100,000 to chip away at the $250,000 total — but they still need $150,000 by Jan. 9.

Sandburg High School graduate Nikolas was 20 when he was rendered a quadriplegic after breaking his neck while diving into a lake. He suffered a severe brain injury that has worsened over time, his family told ABC7. Their once active, healthy son is now confined to a wheelchair or hospital bed. His weight has climbed to 500 pounds due to complications from medications and lack of funding for therapy. His brother Adam juggles chiropractic school and his brother's round-the-clock care.

Then there are the heartbreaking moments Nikolas doesn't remember why his life has been turned upside-down.

"There's times that he really forgets. He's like, 'Why can't I move, Mom?' I said, 'Nikolas, you had an accident,'" Roula told ABC7.

"He's asking me why he can't move."

A carpenter by trade, Paul Bezanis rebuilt the interior of the home, installing ramps and widening doorways to allow Nikolas to get around.

Years later, they find themselves in danger of losing the home, which has been foreclosed on by the owner. Their plans to purchase it seem out of reach after the costs of retrofitting. Roula was forced to quit her job at an Orland Park salon to make time to care for Nikolas. Local fundraising efforts have drummed up $100,000 for the family, but they still have a long way to go by Jan. 9.

"We either buy the house that day, or we'll be evicted," Roula told Patch.

If they lose the home, Nikolas' "fate is sealed," family wrote on their online fundraiser, as there is no state facility that can provide the level of care that he needs. If the family loses their home, Nikolas loses a chance to "live my days with the people who love me and have given everything they have to give.

"All of the improvements made specifically for me will likely be changed back to normal door widths, normal counter heights, normal bathrooms and normal bedroom size, etc. Like we were never here."

Provided the family is able to raise the total needed for the house, any supplementary funds will go toward a new vehicle capable of accommodating his larger wheelchair.

Visit their Crowdrise fundraiser to donate or find more information.