Paralyzed man getting a home makeover | News

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- Shortly after 19-year-old Montana Reinschmidt returned home from training for the Air National Guard he was injured in a bike accident, leaving him paralyzed from the shoulders down.

"He's actually pretty positive," said Montana's father Tony Reinschmidt. "The trauma of the accident will always be there, but he quickly recognized that you've got to deal with the cards God's gave you."

Montana's recovering at a medical facility in Atlanta, so friends and family started working to make sure his homecoming would be a warm and easy one.

"The goal is to make my son feel independent, and to provide safety and mobility," Tony said.

Family friend Michael Murphy is heading up the project and says it wasn't hard to get help.

"People came running out of the woodwork wanting to help. They'd heard about Montana, heard about what a great kid he was and wanted to get involved," said Murphy.

Volunteers have been working 12 hours a day for more than a week, doing things like moving Montana's bedroom to the first floor, designing a wheelchair accessible bathroom and even building a ramp to the front door for when he comes home.

"He's going to say, why'd you do all this for me?" said friend Taylor Murphy.

"There's nothing that he wanted to do before, that he can't do now. He'll just have to do it a little different," Tony said.

Though the renovations are for Montana and his family, Murphy says he feels blessed to be able to help.
 
"Some people go home, wealthy in their pocket. I go home wealthy in my heart," Murphy said.