I created a Facebook event and invited nearly everyone I know. My sister's family, whom I haven't seen in about 7 years, planned a road trip from northeast Ohio. My aunt was considering flying down from Michigan and my parents were coming in from Florida. It was going to be an event.
As it turns out, Paddock pools was never even capable of building our pool. They were having financial problems and didn't have the capital to hire contractors. They knew when they took my $1,000 deposit that they were stealing my money. At least three separate people within the Paddock organization told me blatant lies about the status of our permit or the progress of our project and assured us that we could still get the pool done by my birthday.
In early May my husband, Brian, was diagnosed with late stage cancer of the bile duct.
It was just too much. We didn't have the energy or fortitude to keep wrestling with the pool company, so we canceled the project and the party. We decided to accept the loss of our deposit and move on.
In the meantime, our permit went through at the city of Mesa. Travis, a representative we'd been in contact with from California Pools and Landscape emailed us when he saw our name on the public document and urged us to reconsider California Pools.
We talked it out and decided it just wasn't the right time to make that kind of purchase. Brian was very sick and we didn't want the hassle or the expense.
It was completely deflating to give up. Brian had been looking forward to getting a pool from the moment we signed to have our house built. He was giddy about it. Canceling the project felt a lot like a resignation.
Travis called a few days later to follow up. I told him we weren't going to move forward with the pool because there was no way it would be done in time for my birthday. We wanted to see what would happen with Brian's chemo and maybe get the pool the following summer. Travis said he understood and offered sympathy for Brian's situation.
He was about to hang up when I asked him if there was anyway at all to have the entire project complete in time for Brian to swim with me on my birthday this summer. The stars would have to align in our favor, but he said it might be possible.
I spoke with Brian and told him that I wanted to step out in faith and let California Pools build our pool this summer. He agreed.
It felt really good to operate under the assumption of a best case scenario and moving forward with the project somehow gave us hope.
As Brian started his treatments, swimming in the pool together became our battle cry. It was something we could look forward to and rally around.
When I explained the situation and our time frame to California Pools Manager Nicole S. I told her I was counting on her team to save my birthday from eminent ruin, fight cancer and restore our faith in humanity.
From that point forward the California Pools team was all in.
Every person I interacted with throughout the entire process seemed to be personally invested in meeting our goal. I was worried the process would be a hassle or add to our stress, but it was the exact opposite.
Cindy, our scheduler, was in constant communication and made sure I understood everything I needed to do to avoid delays. Design specialist Lori Maas was responsive and actually met with me over a holiday weekend and all of the contractors who worked on our project were professional, efficient and friendly. They definitely restored our faith in humanity.
In the middle of June I let the team know that Brian's treatments weren't working and we were bringing him home for hospice care.
I knew they were already doing everything they could, but the goal of swimming together in our pool had become a central theme throughout the entire experience and our timeline had shortened significantly.
The California Pools team looked over what we had left to do and considered potential delays. They asked if I had the alarms I needed to pass the final inspection and arranged to have them installed. In our last few days in the hospital, they worked with me at all hours of the day to make sure everything was in order.
I felt like the entire organization had taken ownership of our story and had gone way above and beyond to take care of my husband and I. It was touching and uplifting and although we knew Brian would not win his battle with cancer, California Pools had definitely joined the fight.
Brian passed less than 24 hours after coming home from the hospital. He had only been sick for a month. Although he never got to swim in our pool with me, the pool served as a source of comfort and hope for him.
This is not a sad ending to this story. We didn't fail to meet our goal. This pool is the last gift my husband will ever give me. It was intended to be my 40th birthday gift and I will cherish it as such. Being able to swim in this pool on my birthday this summer will be a source of comfort on what is sure to be a very hard day.
The pool will be complete at the end of next week. We will be celebrating Brian's life with an open house and pool party June 27 from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Pastor Darren of Focus 314 will be available from 2-4 to serve as a spiritual counselor.
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