Faith restored along with home

If you were Ellen Dennèe, you might allow yourself some self-pity.

A traumatizing accident, the amputation of one leg, temporary paralysis in the other leg and almost a year of restoration and rehabilitation: It's enough to flag the spirits of even the most upbeat person.

But Dennèe, who will soon move into a home provided and completely restored by Messiah Lutheran Church in Wauconda, says her gifts have outweighed her trials.

"It was just a miracle," Dennèe says of the church's gift. She'll now live in a Wauconda trailer home that was donated to the church.

Lana Steinecker, a church member and the organizer of the project, recounts how two sisters who'd just lost their mother decided to donate the woman's home to a local church.

"They wanted to give it to someone who would be able to use it," Steinecker says.

The sisters called and called, but the work needed to make the home livable turned many off, Steinecker said. She even thought twice about accepting it.

"This could be a huge project," she remembers thinking. But something prompted her to contact the sisters and work with charitable organization Love INC to find a suitable beneficiary.

When Steinecker called Love INC, Dennèe just happened to be on the other line.

"Everything started falling together," Steinecker says. She approached a contractor, Henry Kreckman of H&S Renovators, at her church and he threw himself into a time-consuming project. Dozens of people worked for free or donated materials.

"We gutted it," Steinecker said, remembering a house damaged by smoking and pets. "We couldn't have done it without all of those people, but (Kreckman) really went above and beyond."

But Dennèe's outlook wasn't always so bright.

She remembers waking up from a horrifying car accident a year ago, confused and hurting.

"I just wanted to die, I was in so much pain," she said, remembering her son, Steven Fahrenbach, urging her to look at what she still had. "I thought, 'What do I have?"

She lost her job and Fox Lake home after the accident.

Fahrenbach said the time just after his mother's accident was tough for everyone, including family members who weren't immediately allowed to tell her she had lost one of her legs.

His mother pleaded with him, he said, to tell him why she couldn't feel anything in her left leg.

"I couldn't say anything," Fahrenbach remembers.

But after she got out of traction and could move around, she said the small victories improved both her mood and her outlook.

"I was excited when I got to roll over," she says with a laugh.

She learned to walk again within four months, a full eight months in advance of doctors' predictions.

When she found out Messiah Lutheran would prepare a home for her to live in, she says she rejoiced.

"I was just so excited," she said. As soon as Lake County Independent Living releases her, Dennèe says she'll move into her new digs, which are ready and waiting.

And in the meantime, she's dedicated herself to sharing her experience, having already spoken at fundraisers for Love INC and other charities.

"It's a blessing from God," Dennèe said. She prayed for guidance, she says, about how to return the favor, asking God: "You saved my life for a very special reason. How do you want me to serve you?"