Image number 32 of the current section of Cosentino and Homes for Our Troops Welcome Home Army SSG Christopher Gordon of Cosentino USA

Cosentino and Homes for Our Troops Welcome Home Army SSG Christopher Gordon

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Cosentino and Homes for Our Troops are proud to welcome Army SSG Chrisopher Gordon home to his new, freshly renovated home in Groveland, Florida. Homes For Our Troops is a privately funded 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that builds and donates specially adapted custom homes nationwide to severely injured Post-9/11 Veterans like Chrisopher.

Since 2017, Silestone by Cosentino, the world’s leading brand in quartz surfacing, has been proud to partner with Home For Our Troops as the exclusive surface provider in these homes. Known for its strength and resilience, Silestone will help make everyday life for Veterans and their families a little easier, thanks to its high resistance to stains, impacts and scratches.

Below, Army SSG Christopher Gordon shares more about his experience working with Homes for Our Troops and what this new home means for him.

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  • Name: Christopher Gordon
  • Location: Groveland, Florida
  • Family: Amy, Tristan, Justin
  • Current Title: Retired
  • Armed Service Branch: Army
  • Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Years in Service: 9
  • Number and Location of Tours: One, in Tal-Afar, Iraq

What called you to serve in the armed forces?

I was inspired by the movie Courage Under Fire. I was fascinated by tanks and I always held the deepest admiration for those who served in the armed forces before me.

What injuries did you sustain in service?

As a result of an Improvised Explosive Device ambush while serving in Iraq, I sustained a loss of my right leg above the knee, an open fracture to my left leg and other superficial wounds all over my body.

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Tell us about your journey in recovery.

My journey in recovery has been long and challenging starting with my time spent at Walter Reed Medical Center learning to walk using a prosthesis and eventually returning home to finding my new normal. I still deal with recurring infections and setbacks from time to time, even as recently as this spring. The infection required a major surgical procedure, but the results have been promising so far.

What challenges did your previous home’s design create in your everyday life?

Prior to moving into my HFOT home, one of the challenges I faced was getting in and out of the shower, which was dangerous as I had to pull myself up and over the threshold, which wasn’t meant to support my weight. In addition, the doorways, including entryways, were not wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair so I never used one, even though it would be safer than using crutches. In the kitchen, I also had to use crutches to cook on higher countertops, which was not comfortable or safe. For the countertops in my new home, I selected Cosentino because the product had the look and feel I was going for and I am very pleased with how they have been standing up so far.

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Tell us about when you found out Homes for Our Troops was giving you and your family a new home.

I felt at that moment that one of my biggest prayers was being answered and I realized that all the challenges I was experiencing in my everyday living space would be going away. I felt so blessed and it has been more than I could have expected so far.

How has this home improved your own day-to-day life? (re: functionality, design, layout, etc.)

Everything is more accessible in my new home and I see what I have been missing out on being now that I am able to use my wheelchair and accomplish all the necessary tasks on a daily basis. I am able to zip around in my wheelchair because the layout is tailor-made for my wheelchair and everything functions the same from my chair as when I am able to be upright on my prosthetic. I don’t have to keep putting things off worrying about being in pain and discomfort.

Image number 33 of the current section of Cosentino and Homes for Our Troops Welcome Home Army SSG Christopher Gordon of Cosentino USA

How has this new home impacted your family’s life?

This home has completely changed our lives and has given me a whole new outlook on life. I now have been blessed with the addition of my son Tristan, who was born just a few days ago. This would have been a challenge I would have been much more hesitant to take on in my prior living space.