Toby and his family are delighted now that the new extension to the family home for Toby’s bedroom and bathroom suite has been successfully completed and is now happily in use by the 8-year old. 

The new space houses Toby’s fully accessible bedroom and bathroom, with ceiling track hoist throughout, and his level access bathroom ensures all transfers can be carried out safely without risk to his carers and parents.

Toby’s parents explain the difficulties Toby and his family faced before the project:

“Before the extension was built our main concern was carrying Toby up and down the stairs, and lifting him in and out of the bath."

“As a family with 3 young children it was far from ideal providing care for Toby upstairs if there was nobody else around to care for his siblings, with the added risk of potentially dropping Toby down the stairs or him bumping his head on the way up. We were putting additional strain on our backs lifting him out of the bath. And then there was the total lack of independence for Toby, not being able to access these upstairs areas on his own.”

Having been awarded a Disabled Facilities Grant towards the project, Toby’s family were faced with finding a further £40,000 above the grant to meet the costs of the project. Now those funds have been successfully raised, through Sullivan’s Heroes together with other organisations, the extension has facilitated the installation of a specialist bath and toilet to further accommodate Toby’s needs as he grows older. 

Toby’s Mum continues: “Now we have his bathroom and bedroom on the ground floor it means Toby can move himself into his bathroom, wash his own hands and help with his own self-care. He can go into his bedroom to play whenever he likes. We can hoist him safely into and out of the bath.”

In addition to the extension, internal doorways have been widened throughout the main body of the property to allow Toby to have the freedom to move in and out of the living areas of his home, as part of his family life. 

Toby’s Mum further explains the benefits of the adaptations:

“This space has changed everything for us as a family – giving Toby the independence he needs to thrive and learn new skills; giving him access to all of the things we take for granted."

"We can provide his care safely now whilst also keeping a close eye on his siblings and it’s a space they can now enjoy together.”

Having heard of Sullivan’s Heroes through friends and via Facebook groups, Toby’s Mum details the benefit that the charity brought to the project and the required fundraising to meet the costs “We received a generous donation towards our build which was very gratefully received and a huge help.”

Toby’s parents continue: “There are not many charities that support home adaptations, so Sullivan’s Heroes is a huge help. As a family where both parents work it is difficult finding a charity that is willing to help and it's always assumed that because these parents work then they have the money to provide the things their child needs, which is far from true.

"These families get little support from most charities, so it was a relief to find a charity willing to help. And the donation helped us get to our target. Thank you.”