Building a better home

ST. CHARLES – Like most 12-year-old boys, Nick Gautille loves playing games on the computer. But there are some days that Nick has trouble even lifting his arms.

“My arms and legs get really sore,” Nick said. “I feel tired, and everything hurts.”

Nick has Long chain 3-Hydroxyacyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency, or LCHADD. People with LCHADD have problems breaking down fat into energy for the body.

The disorder can be fatal. Nick also suffers from other medical issues, including an immune deficiency and severe allergies.

“They are separate but trigger each other,” said Nick’s mother, Susan Gautille. “It is a very delicate balance to keep him healthy.”

Because of his condition, Nick must adhere to a strict eating schedule, cannot play sports or visit friends, and sometimes he cannot access parts of his family’s tri-level home.

Nick doesn’t like talking about the disease when friends ask him about it. He just wants to act like a kid.

“I say it’s a really strange thing,” he said, “and I don’t want to go into all the details.”

On Friday, Rejoice Lutheran Church in Geneva will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser and silent auction to raise funds for the remodeling of Nick’s house to meet his medical needs.

The dinner will be from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Mooseheart Fieldhouse on the corner of Route 31 and Mooseheart Road, just south of Batavia.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has agreed to match 50 percent of the first $10,000 raised from the event.

The project calls for a wheelchair-accessible front door, a first-floor bedroom and bathroom, and an access ramp to a game room.

The game room will allow Nick to invite his friends over to play.

“It’s really nice to have his friends coming over here,” said Nick’s mother.

The renovation project is sponsored by the Mid-Valley Neighborhood Improvement Association and Nick’s Ambassadors.

The family are longtime members of Rejoice Lutheran Church, where many members are helping put on Friday’s fundraiser.

A men’s group at the church will do all the cooking for the fundraiser, and a women’s group is making the desserts and will wait on tables.

“We just want to help one of our own,” church member Susan Garrison said. “It really makes so much of an impact on all of us.”

Susan Gautille is just happy that her son can still perform in plays and participate in other activities he loves.

“Every day is a new day, a new experience and a new chance to enjoy life,” she said.