Before the aluminum ramp was built last week, Craycraft said he used an unstable wooden ramp to transport his wife out of their Wayne Madison Road home to the car for doctor appointments.
Moving his wife by himself took “great effort with lots of risks,” he said.
Now, he said, his wife can maneuver down the ramp and to the car using her walker.
He called the ramp “a lifesaver” and unlike other Christmas presents, it’s “a gift that lasts a lifetime.”
Craycraft said after his wife suffered a heart attack, she was diagnosed with dementia. Then one night, when she got out of bed, she fell and broke her pelvis in three places.
While Karras, who has been named the organization’s nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, and the other volunteers were building the ramp, Craycraft said they became “fast buddies.”
The same could be said about Karras and Greg Schneider, a retired UPS driver who founded Operation Ramp It Up 11 years ago. During that time, the organization has built 345 ramps, including ones in all 50 states, Schneider said.
One benefit of the aluminum ramps is their durability, he said. If the family eventually doesn’t need a ramp, it can be torn down and rebuilt at another site, he said.
This ramp was extra special for Schneider, 64, since Wayne Madison Road was on his UPS delivery route and he lives in Liberty Twp.
“It’s great to help your hometown,” he said.
Schneider said he hopes to work on additional ramp projects with Karras. The two have agreed to discuss future projects next spring.
“He was down to earth, just a great guy,” Schneider said of the Bengals lineman. “He put on a pair of gloves and got involved.”
He also visited Aggie inside the house and posed for pictures.
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