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SUMMARY:
- Matthew Parkhill, a Window Nation EDC, helped neighbors Tom and Kim Bailey purchase a new entry door for their home.
- Shortly after the purchase, Kim was diagnosed with a rare form of stage-4 cancer.
- With the Baileys facing mounting medical expenses, Matthew wanted to help.
- Through his employer's program, Window Nation Cares, the Baileys received their door at no charge.
- Kim is successfully recovering from her surgery in October, and a GoFundMe has been set up to help Tom and Kim Bailey with their medical expenses.
"I was just absolutely floored," explains Matthew Parkhill. "The ultimate prognosis - stage-4 cancer."
Parkhill, an Exterior Design Consultant (EDC) with Maryland-based home renovation company, Window Nation, was beside himself when he heard the news about his friends and neighbors, Tom and Kim Bailey.
When Kim was eight months pregnant, Parkhill had helped the Baileys choose a new front door to replace their old, damaged one. "I did my next door neighbor's door and all their windows in the house," Matthew explains. "My daughter was out to dinner with Kim and Tom, and she said, ‘Hey dad, you need to get in touch with Kim because she wants to put a new door in the house. She loves what you guys did in the neighborhood.' "
Using his decades of experience in the home renovation industry, Matthew worked with the Baileys to find a door they loved, would protect their home for decades, and to work within their budget. "It was a little bit more than what they wanted to spend, but I tried to make it affordable with financing for them," he explains. "I knew that they were going to have the baby, and just wanted to give them a beautiful door for the front of the house."
But soon after, Kim underwent emergency surgery for what doctors initially thought was a ruptured appendix. That's when they received the news that Kim, a nurse and now a mother of two, had a rare form of appendix cancer, and it had unknowingly progressed to stage-4 cancer.
"It weighed heavy on my heart because they're close to us," Matthew says of his friends. "The thing is, I was kind of feeling the burden - that I sold them this door. Could we do something so that they weren't burdened with that expense of having the door replaced?"
He reached out to Philadelphia Region Sales Manager, Bill Mitzelfelt, without hesitation. "Bill did his due diligence. He looked at the Window Nation Cares program, and some ways that we could possibly do it." Thanks to Window Nation Cares, the company chose to cover the cost of the Baileys' new front door. "To speak with Tom and give him the news, I mean, that's a feeling that's irreplaceable," Matthew says through a now-crackling voice. "Everything that they've gone through, and just to take a burden off of their plate. Just to do a good thing."
Window Nation CEO, Jeff Beck, agrees. "I think it's awesome how Window Nation teammates are looking out for people in their lives and their communities. We talk about teamwork a lot, but to see employees spring into action like this to support a customer and a friend means a lot."
"The fact that Matthew immediately thought to help and loop in his colleagues shows me that we hire great people who are always thinking about supporting others. It really brings everything back to our core values."
To put a final thought on it, Matthew thinks for a moment, then says, "Just to see the kindness of folks like Bill and the Window Nation Cares team working so quickly, it makes me proud to be an employee of Window Nation. It hits me close to the heart, and I appreciate all the support from everyone."
On October 21st Kim had extensive surgery to remove the cancer, and is currently recovering in the hospital while receiving post-surgical chemotherapy.
If you would like to learn more about Kim's story, please click here.