Philip’s son, Ben, suffers from cerebral palsy. As he enters his teenage years, it became clear he would need a bedroom conversion, and a ground floor disabled bathroom, to enable him to have some independence as he grows up.
The Fund agreed to cover the cost for the work to be done on the Knibbs family home.
However, it quickly became clear that the renovations would need to be far more extensive than anyone had imagined.
The builders discovered that work had to be done on more than just Ben’s new room to allow the house to comply with building regulations. Problems with the foundations needed to be addressed, as did a rotting floor.
Meanwhile, lead piping for the water supply needed to be replaced, as did an old electric mains box.
All of this vastly increased the initial cost of the original estimate to more than double the amount the Fund had originally agreed to cover.
Understandably, Philip was anxious about the extra money. He and his family organised three fundraising events, which raised £1,000.
But the Fund was not prepared to let Philip finance the rest of the works from his own pocket. Regional Services Co-ordinator Helen Beavis kept in touch with the family throughout the period, and advised that the Fund make an additional grant, which would cover the remaining cost of the adaptation.
This we were happy to do, and Philip reports that Ben is very pleased with his new facilities: “This will make such a difference to Ben,” he wrote, “and we are very grateful.”
Ben is just one of the many thousands of people whose lives have been helped by the Fund in the last 12 months alone.
Visit the Help and Advice section to find out more.