84 Lumber builds addition for recovering Salem teen
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As a Salem teenager fights to regain the life she knew just a few short months ago, she has a brand-new, handicap-accessible wing in her home thanks to the generosity of 84 Lumber.
In early January, Autumn Zundel, 13, was diagnosed with an anterior mediastinal mass between her heart and lungs, after going to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh complaining of shoulder pain. A Jan. 15 biopsy of the mass became far more complicated when Autumn suffered major blood loss and cardiac arrest.
After being released from the hospital, Autumn now has a handicap-accessible bathroom, a gym area with room for a treadmill, an exercise area, a desk for school work and an enlarged bedroom with an area for her to relax.
“It was a very trying time for our family and the way they came together and helped was really amazing,” said Autumn’s mother, Stacey. “It’s made our whole family’s life a whole lot easier.”
It was an easy decision for 84 Lumber Design Manager Jarred Frescura — he’s known the Zundels for 30 years.
“I’ve known Jarred since he and my husband David were teenagers in 4-H,” Stacey Zundel said. “Our families have been kind of entwined for years through livestock and 4-H.”
Autumn is an active member of the American Quarter Horse Association and Harold Alwine 4-H group and a member of livestock groups like the National Junior Swine Association and the Pennsylvania Club Livestock Association.
In 2019, she brought home three ribbons from the state farm show and, on top of the addition to the Zundel home, work crews also built a level path leading to the family’s barn so Autumn can more easily visit with her animals.
“She’s walking and talking, but we still have daily challenges,” Stacey said. “Getting dressed … school looks completely different now than it did before. When we were in therapy, things were so concentrated on getting better, and now it’s the small things — things she did before that were normal, that are now harder for her.”
In addition to her school work, Autumn’s therapy also is now conducted online. Stacey said the home addition “has been amazing for her. It gives her her own space, it’s safe for her, and she has a therapy room.”
Frescura said 84 Lumber management regularly does this type of charity work and spur-of-the-moment outreach.
“Dave, Stacey and I were already talking about building an addition for Autumn with friends we knew,” Frescura said. “I asked the company for a donation, our vice president felt it was a very worthwhile project and sent it up the ladder.”
Autumn’s mother said she is making good progress, bolstered by much easier access to the animals she’s used to raising and showing.
“She’s been up to the barn, not daily, but as much as she can,” Stacey said.