A speechless mum has praised her local community for rallying together to help raise £18,000 to transform her home for her disabled son.
Theo, three, was born with a life-limiting condition known as Ohtahara syndrome and a rare gene which causes a rare type of epilepsy resistant to drugs and uncontrollable.
As a result, his development was affected and he relies on a wheelchair. Mum Kayleigh started renovation work on her three-bedroom home in a bid to make it easier for her son to get around.
To help her friend, Michelle McCourt, 44, set up a fundraising page to help her transform her home - and the community response was astonishing.
Kayleigh, a teaching assistant, from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, said: "It is completely overwhelming.
"It means the world that everyone is coming together and helping, it is absolutely amazing.
"Theo is nobody to all these people but all of a sudden he is something to everyone.
"I can't put it into words how grateful I am, especially when times are so hard for everyone.
“Theo loves the fact that everyone is giving him attention, he loves people, and he loves being in the limelight and the fact he is getting all this attention he is loving it."
The front of the house has been extended to give more room for Theo's wheelchair and his equipment.
Wider doors will also be installed, making it easier for Theo to move around the house, and the floors have been ripped out and concrete put in so the house is warmer.
The council offered to renovate Theo's bedroom and wet room and the kitchen will also be renovated - allowing Theo to access it and take part in family activities.
The project will cost £18k and so far £7k has been raised - in donations from the local community and businesses.
Renovation work started in the summer when local building firms offered to help out with the renovation for free meaning the money raised will be used to make the interior of the house fully-accessible for Theo.
The work will allow wheelchair-bound Theo to move around the house more freely as he is currently unable to access his home using the front door as there isn't enough room.
Several firms donated to support the project including Pearson's Builders who donated time and expertise to do the building work.
Another company, MKM, donated materials for the exterior build. Bathroom Takeaway has donated a cloakroom set, Balloons by Naomi supported the project by selling bows in aid of Theo, GMB Waste and Lindum Waste have donated skips and Alpha Concrete have given the concrete needed for the project.
Materials still needed include plumbing supplies, radiators, paint, skirting and internal doors, flooring, plasterboard, adhesive and plaster, kitchen equipment and electrical supplies and the family is still appealing for donations.
During the start of the renovation, Kayleigh and Theo and Sharon moved out of their home and stayed with family members so they wouldn't get in the way of the renovation work.
They have now worked back into the house as it was "too much" living elsewhere with Theo's medical equipment.
