Mother, son helplessly separated by stairs
MILTON, Wash. -- The Claytons are a family divided, separated by a staircase.
A mother battling a disabling disease and a son recently paralyzed are stranded on two separate floors in the same house.
Mary Clayton is bedridden with multiple sclerosis and can't get up the steps. Her son, Josh Clayton, is paralyzed from the waist down and can't get down the steps.
Nine feet divides their lives into two detached worlds.
"It's like a prison and I don't want it to be," said Mary Clayton.
Six months ago, black ice sent Josh Clayton's car down an embankment. The accident crushed his spinal cord and left him paralyzed. It also left him alienated from his own mother.
"There is no way for us to meet," he said. "The whole family is scattered and we're stuck in this labyrinth."
When Josh Clayton's father died of cancer 10 years ago, he bought a house and refurbished the basement so that his mother could move in with him.
But despite his efforts to keep his mother close, a cell phone has been their only link in recent days. And Josh Clayton's 9-year-old son, Tyler Clayton, sometimes plays messenger.
"He's come a long way," Tyler Clayton said of his father. "He's been doing a very excellent job and I'm really proud of him."
Still, in six months the mother and son have seen each other just twice. Mary Clayton saw her son on the day he came home from the hospital. Then on Mother's Day, friends carried Josh Clayton down the stairs so he could visit with his mother.
"It was like a silly romantic movie," Mary Clayton said. "We're holding hands because we weren't ready to have it over with yet."
Theirs is a problem a hydraulic wheelchair lift can solve. But the only place it can be installed is on the outside the house, and it would cost $30,000. The Claytons don't have that kind of money.
They didn't want to ask for help, but they ran out of choices. Desperate for help, Mary Clayton sent letters to friends.
Nicole Brodeur of the Seattle Times got one of those calls and wrote about it in her column on Friday.
"We're both big people in paying it forward," said Mary Clayton.
So far, generous hearts have raised $5,000 -- a tremendous feat. But that still leaves $25,000 more to go.
"All I have are them. I live for my family," said Josh Clayton, crying.
KOMO News has found a local team willing to donate equipment and labor for installation of the lift. Anyone who'd like to help the Claytons can donate online to the Problem Solvers' Fund.
A mother battling a disabling disease and a son recently paralyzed are stranded on two separate floors in the same house.
Mary Clayton is bedridden with multiple sclerosis and can't get up the steps. Her son, Josh Clayton, is paralyzed from the waist down and can't get down the steps.
Nine feet divides their lives into two detached worlds.
"It's like a prison and I don't want it to be," said Mary Clayton.
Six months ago, black ice sent Josh Clayton's car down an embankment. The accident crushed his spinal cord and left him paralyzed. It also left him alienated from his own mother.
"There is no way for us to meet," he said. "The whole family is scattered and we're stuck in this labyrinth."
When Josh Clayton's father died of cancer 10 years ago, he bought a house and refurbished the basement so that his mother could move in with him.
But despite his efforts to keep his mother close, a cell phone has been their only link in recent days. And Josh Clayton's 9-year-old son, Tyler Clayton, sometimes plays messenger.
"He's come a long way," Tyler Clayton said of his father. "He's been doing a very excellent job and I'm really proud of him."
Still, in six months the mother and son have seen each other just twice. Mary Clayton saw her son on the day he came home from the hospital. Then on Mother's Day, friends carried Josh Clayton down the stairs so he could visit with his mother.
"It was like a silly romantic movie," Mary Clayton said. "We're holding hands because we weren't ready to have it over with yet."
Theirs is a problem a hydraulic wheelchair lift can solve. But the only place it can be installed is on the outside the house, and it would cost $30,000. The Claytons don't have that kind of money.
They didn't want to ask for help, but they ran out of choices. Desperate for help, Mary Clayton sent letters to friends.
Nicole Brodeur of the Seattle Times got one of those calls and wrote about it in her column on Friday.
"We're both big people in paying it forward," said Mary Clayton.
So far, generous hearts have raised $5,000 -- a tremendous feat. But that still leaves $25,000 more to go.
"All I have are them. I live for my family," said Josh Clayton, crying.
KOMO News has found a local team willing to donate equipment and labor for installation of the lift. Anyone who'd like to help the Claytons can donate online to the Problem Solvers' Fund.