After the stroke, help from friends and strangers alike

A homecoming near in Carlisle

(Globe Staff / Joanne Rathe) Friends (from left) Zander Ansara, Charles Fitzpatrick (rear), Evan Scarlett, and Alex Daniels and families made a home handicapped-accessible after Fitzpatrick’s dad, Tom, had a stroke.

A recent Saturday morning in Carlisle found Evan Scarlett, Zander Ansara, and Alex Daniels toiling. First, the three 16-year-olds dug up grass. Then they raked gravel. And when the outdoor chores were done, they headed inside to remove some wallboard.

Like many other teenagers, they regularly perform community service to meet graduation requirements. But this was different. The boys were helping someone they know well: the family of their childhood friend Charles Fitzpatrick.

Charles's father, Tom, suffered a stroke in late January and has stayed in three medical facilities since then. For the past couple of months, his son's friends, their parents, and others from the community have been preparing the house for his return.

The diagnosis for the 61-year-old was an ischemic stroke, which turned hemorrhagic after bleeding and swelling set in. "Tom suffered paralysis of the arm and leg on his left side, because the stroke was on the right side of his brain," his wife, Gail, explained. "He did not lose any of his speech or thinking capacity, which is a huge blessing. The challenges we face have to do with gaining mobility and learning to maximize the strength he still has."

Tom Fitzpatrick is an independent web designer and developer. He is also the man behind the "Reflection for the Day" feature that appears daily in the Globe. His wife, also self-employed, is an artist specializing in live event paintings and portraits. They have two children, Grace and Charles.

Since elementary school, Charles, 16, has been part of a tight-knit group of friends, and their parents have formed close bonds over the years as well, getting together frequently for group dinners. For the first few weeks after Tom's stroke, Gail had no energy left for socializing. When she finally felt ready to join her friends for dinner, she told them about her visit from two professionals - a physical therapist and an occupational therapist - who came to evaluate what steps would need to be made once Tom came home, beginning with making the house wheelchair-accessible.

The next day Gail got a phone call from Michael Ansara, father of Charles's close friend Zander. First, Ansara pointed out that the more prep work they could accomplish as volunteers, the less the Fitzpatricks would have to pay contractors. "And then he said he'd like to act as the project manager," Gail recounted.

What followed was a flurry of group e-mails as Ansara outlined the work to be done: Walls would be removed. A wheelchair-accessible path and ramp would be built, so Tom could get from a car to the house and from the house to the studio from which he runs his business.

Ansara tapped into the list of friends and relatives to whom Gail had been sending regular updates on Tom's health, and added acquaintances of his own. Word spread throughout the small community - to the point where Gail now sometimes walks through her house during weekend "work parties" and introduces herself to people who have come to help even though they don't know any of the Fitzpatricks personally.

Charles's friends were among the first to rise to the occasion.

"I felt like I owed it to their family because they were such a pleasure to be acquainted with," said Evan Scarlett, who just finished his sophomore year at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School. "My parents told me about it, and right away I wanted to help."

Alex Daniels, another friend, felt the same way. "I was shocked when I heard what happened to Charles's dad. When Mr. Ansara sent out the e-mail asking us if we wanted to get involved, we all jumped on it because it seemed like such a good thing to do. I think a lot of kids would like to be part of something like this."

The scene at the Fitzpatricks' 50-year-old ranch house on a recent morning was typical: Ansara and his son Zander; Alex Daniels and his father; Evan Scarlett and his father; two of the Fitzpatricks' neighbors; and a high school friend of Grace's all worked to spread gravel on the outdoor wheelchair path and move old wallboard into a dumpster.

Gradually, the work is getting done. Gail said she feels anxious about managing her husband's needs once he returns, but she believes that getting him back into a familiar setting will be psychologically beneficial to both of them.

Reached by telephone at a rehabilitation facility in Westford recently, Tom Fitzpatrick sounded upbeat, even though his homecoming date remained uncertain.

"The thing that is most moving to me is the fact that all these people - kids, neighbors, and some of our old friends from other towns as well - came together to do this for us," he said. "What was for us a traumatic event became transformed into a bonding event, a way of connecting to other people."

Nancy Shohet West can be reached at nancyswest@msn.com.