Our First Build – Meet Samantha Allen
No family could ever be prepared for the horrific events that took place on a beautiful spring day in 2003. As then, eight-year-old Samantha Allen crossed the street in front of her home, and was struck by a car. Her injuries included the same type of spinal cord injury that the late Christopher Reeve suffered. Samantha is confined to a wheelchair and requires 24-hour medical care.
But Samantha is more than the result of a horrific car accident. She is more than a list of medical diagnoses. She is a beautiful girl with gorgeous eyes and shining blonde hair. She is an artist, and dreams of being a rock star. She is a sister and daughter who proclaimed that the best part of going to Disney World wasn’t the rides or characters or plane trip, but spending time with her family.
She loves to do all the things any girl does, only with the limitations that quadriplegia brings. She loves to go to the mall, dancing (with her eyes), singing, dressing up as a diva, butterflies, and flowers.
Through the Samantha’s House Foundation and the generosity of many, Samantha was given a home that utilized meticulous accessibility design, the latest technology and a touch of love and passion.
Meet Nicole Richards
Ever since Nicole Richards was a little girl, she dreamed of being an Olympic gymnast. Nicole began competing at the state, regional and national levels. She trained four to five days a week and won many state and regional USA Gymnastics and IHSAA titles. During Nicole’s junior year of high school at Perry Meridian, she decided she wanted to pursue a collegiate gymnastics career. She wanted to stay close to home, so Ball State University in Muncie was the answer.
On a fateful day in February, February 18, 2000 to be exact, Nicole and two of her friends and current teammates took a trip to Ball State to meet with the coaches and be introduced to the girls for the first time. On the way home, the car she was in was involved in 22-car pile-up. She was life-lined to the IU Med Center and immediately went into emergency surgery to fuse her vertebrae. She sustained a C-6 -7 complete spinal cord injury. She was now paralyzed from the chest down and would spend every day in a power wheelchair.
Nicole’s story didn’t end there but, in some ways, it started. After months of grueling rehab in Chicago, she finished her senior year in high school and started at IUPUI in the fall. In the fall of 2001, she transferred from IUPUI to BSU. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications within four and half years, despite the many obstacles facing her.
Nicole took a full course load, had three surgeries, wrote for the Daily News and reported for the News Center. To lessen the stress on her family, Nicole decided to get her license, but had to complete over 100 hours of specialized training and testing. She had to re-learn how to drive, but this time by using only her hands with hand controls. Nicole still kept gymnastics close to her heart, though, she went to the BSU practices and all home meets. The athletic director even gave her the letter jacket she would’ve received. She taught gymnastics lessons every summer to younger girls that dreamed the dreams Nicole had all those years ago. She even got her judging license and continues to use it to judge club meets, USA gymnastics and high school meets. The sport is still a major part of her life.
Upon graduation, she moved back home to Indianapolis and got reacquainted with life at home with her mom and siblings. Nicole isn’t the type to stay idle long – within a year she got a full time job as a human resource specialist with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service for the Department of Defense. She works 40 hours a week; judge’s gymnastics meets, attends all of her sibling’s athletic events and is actively involved with her friends’ lives. She puts on fundraisers and speaks to youth groups in the community. Being an advocate for spinal cord research and striving to find a cure for all spinal cord injuries is one of her greatest passions.
Nicole’s dilemma was that she was ready to be on her own but couldn’t because of her living situation. She yearned for independence but can’t afford to do it on her own. Her make-shift bedroom and bathroom that her grandpa built barely provided enough space.
Nicole now has the experience of independent living due to the home that was provided to her by Samantha’s House. The home is conducive to all her needs and allows for the freedom that she had dreamed about. It was the outpouring of financial resources and those giving of themselves that made this special build possible.
Meet Gabby Hanlon
Her hearty laugh, her beautiful smile and her undeniable warmth – and most of all, her remarkable will to not just survive, but thrive, despite suffering from mitochondrial disease inspired us all. Mitochondria are the “energy factories” present in every cell. They process oxygen, convert food substances into energy and carry out essential cell functions. Mitochondrial disease is the failure of these mechanisms, resulting in cell injury and even cell death. When this happens throughout the body, whole systems begin to fail, and the health of the individual is drastically compromised. Although Gabby is totally dependent on her parents and nursing staff, she does attend a special-needs class in Brownsburg and accompanies the family on outings. That kind of fighting spirit deserves immense admiration. And this child deserves every chance we can give her to carry her message of hope for years to come.
Gabby’s Family
There’s dad (Mike), mom (Penny), Gabrielle, her two brothers (Andrew & Josh) and her sister (Grace). They are a family in the deepest sense of the word, sharing everything life has to offer, including pure joy and unbearable pain. They experienced the latter most dramatically when they lost their second child, Jessica, at the age of ten months. It was later determined that mitochondrial disease was a contributing factor in her death. Aside from Gabby, the other children have not yet shown signs of the illness, although they might be afflicted, as this condition is hereditary.
But all you really need to know to understand the Hanlons (and, very likely, why Gabby has defied the odds) is summed up in their motto: “Too blessed to be stressed. Life is good,” They don’t ask “Why us?” but only what they can do to make Gabby’s life as full as possible.
It was for these reasons that Samantha’s House stepped up to the challenge of giving Gabby and the Hanlon family a fully accessible home to make all their lives just a little better. Their existing home was not wheelchair accessible, and Gabby had to be carried from room to room. Gabby and her family now live in a newly constructed home that meets their needs fully.
Meet Anthony Long
Meet Jackson Miller
Although there have been challenges for Jackson during his life, he still has been able to bless others with his great smile and amazing personality. Now Jackson has a house that can meet even his difficult medical needs; while still enjoying an environment that is a true home.
Check out the new bed and lift in his bedroom. 
And the new living room…
You can be a part of builds like this by becoming a friend of Samantha’s House and giving generously to help those in need.