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To help a sick girl, two local companies team up to replace a Taylor Mill family's broken A/C unit

Posted at 4:30 AM, Sep 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-06 04:30:56-04

TAYLOR MILL, Ky – The recent heat wave has made air condition a must, but especially so for one Taylor Mill Family. 

“It was up to 88 or 89 degrees in here at one point,” Mike Mean said.

Currently, Mean is cooling his home with fans and portable air conditioning units after his in-house A/C stopped working. Regulating the temperature is crucial for Mean’s 7-year-old daughter, Abigail, who is living with Sanfilippo Syndrome, a terminal genetic condition that causes brain damage. 

“She doesn't regulate her head and sweat, then it could damage her organs and things like that beyond the struggle that she’s dealing with because of the disease,” Mean said.

The family started a GoFundMe page to raise the $6,000 they needed for a new A/C unit. 

“Got all the money that we needed and actually $170 extra,” Means said.

Means then got an unexpected message on his Facebook page from Schneller and Knochelmann Plumbing, they were donating a new heating and A/C unit to the family. 

“My wife and I cried, to be honest,” Means said. “Just to think that somebody would…because you’re not talking something cheap.”

Pete Knochelmann said that he was always taught to focus on what he could do for others, and so that’s what his plumbing company is doing now for Abigail and her family.

“We’re glad to give back and it feels good,” Knochelmann said. “The right thing is to help others when they need it. And this is all about doing the right thing.”

Schneller and Knochelmann will cover labor costs, and another local company, Johnstone Supply will cover the cost of the unit. 

“Just to have perfect strangers come into your life and bless you like that is just unbelievable,” Means said. 

Installation is expected by the end of the week. Means said the money from the GoFundMe page will be placed in a special account for Abigail’s needs.