BIDDEFORD — Alfred Proulx Jr. and his wife Pauline say they don’t like being a burden on others. They’d rather give than receive, say the couple, and have often helped out family members. But now they’re in need and though it goes against their proud nature, they’re asking for help.

In 2008, Alfred was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He has stage four cancer and the prognosis is not good.

He tires easily, he needs the help of a walker to get around, and his muscles, bones and joints all hurt, he said. Proulx has been on chemotherapy, but that’s no longer working. Now he’s taking a type of hormone medication.

The only comfort Alfred has is the thought that he may go into his own home soon. Although he was released from the hospital Oct. 1, he and Pauline are staying with friends. They aren’t allowed to live in their home because of city code violations, discovered when emergency rescue workers came to his aid.

Asking for help doesn’t come easy to the Proulxs.

“I don’t like asking people to give money, I like to be the one giving. There are people worse off than us,” said Pauline.

Prior to Alfred’s illness, the 58-year-old man was a hard worker.

“I worked all my life,” he said. “I’ve never not had a job.”

When he lost his long-time job at Biddeford Textiles, he found a new job the next week, he said. When his wife also lost her job, when the company she worked for left Maine, the couple then started their own courier company, making deliveries to the Portland International Jetport.

They kept up their business even after Alfred’s diagnosis and after he hurt himself and couldn’t lift packages. They adapted, with Alfred doing the driving while Pauline made the deliveries. Eventually, their business ended when the price of gas increased so much they were no longer making a profit.

For the past six months, the couple has been living on Alfred’s disability assistance. Until recently, he said, “We were doing okay, we were paying the bills.”

Then during the summer, Proulx’s health deteriorated and Pauline had to call for emergency assistance several times. After the last call in August, the code enforcement officer visited their home and noted several violations, such as the lack of a second exit from the second floor apartment where they lived, the lack of hard-wired smoke detectors and several other violations.

Now the couple is staying with their friends, Paul and Beverly Timberlake.

“Here Paul helps me as much as he can, but they can’t be doing that all the time,” said Alfred .

So he wants to go home, said Proulx, where his two brothers live on the first floor.

“That way, I’m not a stress on anyone but myself,” he said. “At home, my brothers can drive me around.”

After they were told they couldn’t go home, the couple went to see Mayor Joanne Twomey. They said she is trying to help them and she sent them to see Health and Welfare Director Vicky Edgerly.

Through Edgerly’s help, the Proulxs found someone willing to donate his labor to put in a fire escape; they just need funds to pay for the material.

“We’re all in this together,” said Dana Peck, who volunteered to install the fire escape. “That’s what communities do, we help people when they’re in need.” Peck, of Arundel, owns a metal shop in North Dam Mill in Biddeford.

The Proulxs have also found someone who will give them a chair lift so Alfred can get to his second-floor apartment more easily.

In addition to the funds needed to pay for materials for a second exit, they also need help to repair their electrical problems.

The couple hopes members of the community will come forward to help them raise funds so they can return to their home.

“And if anything is leftover, it can be used to help someone else,” said Alfred.

Those wishing to help the Proulxs should contact the Biddeford Health and Welfare Department at 284-9514.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or [email protected].