Brian and Angela Rivera’s home will soon have a brand-new roof donated by Home Genius Exteriors (HGE), a home improvement company based in Montgomery County.
The family moved to the Glenside section of Abington Township two years ago. The roofing project’s story began in 2022 when the Riveras’ oldest son Liam, now six, began experiencing frequent nose bleeds.
“He was bleeding easily, he was pale. The doctors didn’t think much of it at first,” Angela, a Northeast Philadelphia native, told Glenside Local. “We had to push to get his blood work completed. The pediatrician said it’s seasonal allergies, but our parent intuition told us it wasn’t that.”
After Liam’s eventual diagnosis following a year’s worth of testing, the Riveras learned that Everly, their three-year-old daughter, and Julian, who came along five months ago, each shared with Liam a rare genetic liver disease: Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis (PFIC).
Liam is currently on the liver transplant waiting list. As the family adjusted to the demands of life with three chronically ill kids, they were confronted with a cancer diagnosis for Angela’s father.
The Riveras also needed a new roof over their home. Earlier this summer, an HGE sales associates knocked on the Rivera’s door with a promotion, and Brian and Angela set up a free estimate appointment. When it became clear that the financial burden of medical care made an affordable solution for their failing roof impossible, HGE stepped in and covered the entire cost.
Austin Killian, HGE’s co-founder and executive vice president, told Glenside Local that the decision to offer the project pro bono came after his team got to personally know the homeowners.
“We were actually in the neighborhood doing some work. We gave them a free estimate and inspection, then we then set up an appointment for them to have a free in-home inspection,” he said. “After the estimate, we realized that with everything the family has going on right now, it wasn’t going to be possible to do a new roof.”
From there, HGE worked with the Riveras to solve their problem.
“We started to unpack everything the family’s been going through. It impacted us tremendously,” Killian, a resident of Philadelphia, said. “We put aside a portion of our revenue to be able to help out a family in need, so that’s what we did for the Riveras. It was a pretty easy decision once we got to know them.”
Killian noted that HGE, which began in Maryland and the Bala Cynwyd section of Montgomery County, does a philanthropic project of this nature once a quarter. This is their first project in Glenside.
The roofing began around 8:00am on Tuesday, July 22. HGE expects to have everything wrapped up by tomorrow.
“It’s a people business. When you reach out to folks and ask how you can help, you find out a lot of information,” Killian said. “That’s how we were able to take care of these homeowners. It feels great. I want to thank my employees for identifying the need and for their willingness to help people out.”
The Riveras described the experience as life-changing and an opportunity to spread awareness about a little-known disease.
“It’s been a very long day, but everything’s gone well. The interactions we’ve had with HGE have been relaxed and incredibly helpful. After that initial inspection, they immediately started trying to figure out how to make this work,” Brian, a Puerto Rican native who moved to Philadelphia ten years ago, said. “You could tell they cared, especially when they found out what’s going on medically with our kids. They’ve been amazing.”
“From the moment we met HGE’s employees, we’ve become lifers. They’re so easy to work with, so knowledgeable, they answered all of our questions, and I think they truly care about the job they’re doing. They’re authentic and genuine, every single one of them,” Angela said. “They made sure our kids were taken care of and they made sure that we feel comfortable. Nothing about the process felt pushy.”
For those who have received a similar diagnosis, the Riveras encourage families to check out PFIC.org, a repository for all things related to the cluster of disorders. From the website:
Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis (PFIC) is an umbrella term that represents a group of rare genetic disorders that cause cholestatic liver disease and can lead to cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease.
We offer a variety of educational resources designed to help families understand this complex disease including a patient brochure translated into 19 languages and a library of webinars from PFIC experts.
The site has dedicated a page to the Riveras. You can read their story here.
“Families going through this situation can feel that they’re not alone,” Brian said. “Not a lot of people know about this disease, but there’s a very supportive community out there, in part because of that organization.”
“We’re an open book and we don’t mind sharing,” Angela said. “This has given us the opportunity to share more about this rare disease. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has been our go-to place without a doubt.”
“They’re a wonderfully positive family. They have a great outlook, they’re the nicest people,” Killian said. “They’re very deserving of this.”
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Photos courtesy of HGE, pfic.org