A pink sewing machine is not something you would picture in the home of a 27-year-old man.
But Justin Roy had little choice when he went to the store to buy one, and the color didn't matter to him anyway. All he wanted to do is make a toy for his son William.
William, then six years old, was starting to lose his baby teeth. When he would tuck his tooth under his pillow, Roy says the Tooth Fairy was having trouble finding it at night. Justin sewed a pocket to William's bed pillow.
"That was all fine and dandy until he's knocking it off on the side of his bed or onto the floor and the tooth falls out of the pillow somewhere," said Justin.
So he created a small, light up pillow in the shape of a star, with a small pocket to hold a baby tooth. He calls it "Tommy the Tooth Fairy Helper."
"The Tooth Fairy can go straight into the bedroom, go straight to 'Tommy the Tooth Fairy Helper,' reach into his mouth and swap it out, and then she's on her way," Justin said.
The toy also comes with a set of instructions for the child and a reminder to always brush their teeth.
"I could see my son's spirit of the Tooth Fairy come back. He's so excited and says 'I'm ready to turn on Tommy, I can't wait to lose another tooth.'"
William is not only Justin's muse, he is the light of his life. William was born just a couple of months after Justin enlisted in the Navy when he was 18.
"It tore me up to leave him. I took his baby blanket overseas and put it on my bed, so each time I got back to my room I could feel like he was still kind of with me," he said.
Justin leaned on his parents, Del and Pat Roy, to help take care of his son. The Roys adopted Justin and his older brother when Justin was about two years old. Pat Roy says the boys' biological parents had drug and alcohol problems and their sons had mental and emotional issues.
Pat says doctors told her the boys would likely never make it past the third grade and would rely on them for the rest of their lives. She shared this with Justin and his brother when they got older.
"I said you know what, that ain't gonna be my story," said Justin. "That's when I put forth the change in my life and other people's life."
Justin would go on to graduate high school before enlisting in the Navy. Del and Pat Roy say he was an active kid and was always curious about how things worked. They also remember a boy who would help just about anybody.
"He doesn't know any stranger, he'll talk to anybody," said Del. "He just has a good heart and if somebody needs something, he does."
"I'm a bleeding heart," said Justin. "I can't walk past somebody with their hand out or asking for help without talking to them and seeing what I can do."
He found like-minded people who wanted to help the less fortunate. He started a non-profit called Everlasting Vets United, where volunteers hit the streets of Baltimore to provide water and food to homeless veterans or just lend them an ear.
"If you do that one kind deed or you help out this one time, its going to make their tomorrow that much better," said Justin.
He came up with his life's motto "Making Tomorrow Look Better Today." Justin even made it the motto of his own handyman company, BlueStar Home and Commercial Rehab.
As for "Tommy the Tooth Fairy Helper," Justin has a patent pending and is shopping it around to toy makers like Mattel. He hasn't had any takers yet, but he says he knows all he needs is just one yes. He hopes the toy will take off and allow him to better provide for his family and the homeless veterans he has yet to reach and help.
"At the end of the day, its not about me. Its about my family, its about helping other people out, and its about putting that smile on somebody's face."
