MANCHESTER -- Ryan Dion was trying to get back to normal life when he made a frustrated Facebook post about his kitchen cabinets.
He never thought that one simple post would turn into a brand new kitchen. But that’s exactly what happened for Manchester’s home town hero.
“It’s awesome! I mean. I’m speechless. It’s crazy, it’s been a month an
Dion can hardly believe it himself after he got a completely new kitchen, after his cabinets fell of the wall one night. He took to Facebook and a lot of people noticed.
One of them was Cindi Flaherty.
“When that cabinet came off the wall at 3 a.m., and brought him back to another place that I’m sure he didn’t want to remember, I said 'we’re doing something'.”
Cindy works for Lowe's and is part of the Manchester VFW. Cindi worked with Molly Devanney from Manchester’s "Rebuilding Together."
Molly found out about a $25,000 grant available from Sears that needed to go to a Veteran. They applied, got the grant for Ryan and he had a new kitchen just a few weeks later.
He’s been thriving and is ready for the Manchester Road Race this Thanksgiving. Ryan said he’s grateful for all of the support.
“It’s great you know, we had Vietnam veterans who got spit on, and here I am getting a kitchen, it’s an honor.”
But as Molly explains, it’s the community that feels honored to help and thank Ryan for all he’s done and sacrificed.
“We had everybody step in and wanted to give of their time, because they felt so connected to Ryan. He’s one of those people who as soon as you meet, you want to help him because he’s so generous with his time and helping others and he really understands what it’s like. He may have gotten hurt, but he came back and he’s making a difference in people’s lives. He just didn’t give up on life, he’s continuing to develop and help other people.”