Bethany Children’s Medical Center opens first Mattie Home for former patient

After a horrific car crash, DeWayne Pollard was sent to The Bethany Children's Hospital. But now that he’s 21, he needs a new space that he can call home, and on Tuesday, he got it.

“You know we’ve poured into kids until they were adults, and the challenge was they were aging out into adulthood,” said Nico Gomez, Bethany Children’s Medical Center CEO.

Pollard spent significant time at the center after he broke his neck in a car crash. He now struggles with finding a home that would accommodate his needs.

“We always said you know one of these days we’re going to do something about it and one of those days is today,” said Gomez.

With the ribbon cutting of the first of many homes that they call their Mattie Homes Project.

“I never envisioned myself having something like this,” said DeWayne Pollard.

It was a home custom-built for Pollard, specifically with his needs in mind.

“You can turn it on from here, but you can use touchscreen,” said Pollard.

He was involved in the project from the beginning, but had not seen the finished product until today.

“I gave them a lot of documents, a lot of just little nitpicking stuff, and every single thing is in the house,” said Pollard.

All his needs are met, from the doorknob handles to the height of the plugs and light switches. Even the kitchen appliances are at a level for his convenience. And what's the first thing he wants to do in his new home?

“I want to cook, because those instruments weren’t there for me. Yes, I could cook on the stove, but I was more worried about burning myself,” said Pollard.

The entire experience has restored something in Pollard that he says he lost after the accident.

“I think after that it happened, I guess is just a reason to keep hope,” said Pollard

The Bethany Children’s Medical Center plans to build more homes for more patients, like DeWayne.