Matthew was a typical active boy with a love of Doctor Who and sport. He has three best friends at school (Emily, Luke & Gabriel) and is loved beyond all else by his parents Leigh and Sue. At age 10 Matthew started to develop episodes of headaches and nausea – it was being monitored by doctors but they didn’t have big concerns.
During a family holiday in Devon, Matthew suddenly struggled to walk – within 48 hours he was rushed into hospital for scans and emergency surgery to treat a brain tumour. After an operation to remove 90% of Matthew’s cancerous tumour; the family were given a positive prognosis by consultants. What then should have been the road to recovery soon became a relentless living nightmare!
When Matthew was transferred from intensive care back to the ward, his blood pressure became unstable resulting in two massive strokes and paralysis. Parents Leigh and Sue said “it felt like a lottery win when Matt could open one eye.” Fourteen months later Matthew was due his final chemo round and was finally given the greenlight to get home – but Sue and Leigh couldn’t make it happen. The community have come together to do their own DIS SOS inspired mission but it’s exhausted the communities resource’s.
Diy Sos In Telford: Matthew Cooper's New Home Gets The Nod
The house needs a downstairs extension with space for a carer to stay and all the bespoke care provision Matthew will need; physio space, wet room, social space and the ability to access the entire ground floor. If the Coopers don’t get this work done, they will have to stay at the hospital until alternative accommodation can be found for Matthew. This could mean the couple would have to return home without him – something they swore they would never do to him.
Wrockwardine Wood Junior School and the wider community managed to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds towards renovating the Cooper’s home for when Matthew is well enough to be discharged from hospital – and Matthew’s head teacher Julie Henry was the person in charge of leading the major fundraising campaign and applied for DIY SOS to come to transform their home.
So when we were approached to help out, we were both happy and honoured. To know that we support DIY SOS and it’s cause 100% but also to know that we are requested for help time and time again gives us all the boost in company moral to know our products and services are relied upon by such a great programme is truly an honour.
The First Of Many To Come With Diy Sos!
The Big Build is the BBC’s flagship home renovation programme; it has been running for 16 years, and attracts up to 9 million viewers per episode in its prime time slot on BBC One. The ambitious show presented by Nick Knowles and his team of ‘Purple Shirts’ takes on extremely big builds in just nine days. They completely rely on the support and generosity of the local community of tradespeople and suppliers to carry out the work, to help truly deserving families transform their homes.
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Fulton & Bray Blue Faceted Cupboard Knob As part of our Glass Cupboard Knob Collection we have a wide range of colours, they are Pretty in Pink - Beautiful in Blue - Gorgeous in Green...It made for emotional viewing. After three months, the public finally got to see the final results of the DIY SOS visit to Telford.
Diy Sos In Telford: We're All More Than Happy To Do Our Bit For Matthew Cooper, Say Volunteers
The BBC team were in Trench back in March to transform the home of Matthew Cooper, a 12-year-old boy who has had huge support from the people of Telford after becoming ill while the family were on holiday in Devon.
Matthew had been in hospital for more than a year after suffering cancer and a stroke, turning his family’s world upside down.
The youngster’s headteacher Julie Henry of Wrockwardine Wood Junior School, and his classmates, were fundraising to get him back in his home and have it made suitable for his needs.
Diy Sos: The Big Build
Julie and Matthew’s best friends put out a plea to DIY SOS to help, and Nick and the team answered, getting support from hundreds of volunteers who helped make Matthew’s home suitable for his complex medical needs.
And the children of Telford were the stars of the show, introducing the start of the programme on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday.
Matthew’s father Leigh described the “dark days” when they first found out about their son’s illness, saying they “couldn’t believe” it was happening to their family.
Telford Boy Returns Home With Help Of Tv Show
For a normal family whose life was thrown into disarray, the help of DIY SOS was just what they needed and made their family home somewhere they could be a family together again, after staying in rented accommodation since Matthew finished his treatment towards the end of 2016, as the home in Springfield Road was completely unsuitable for his wheelchair.
But it wasn’t an easy build, and the team were hit with a number of problems, as they attempted to do six months work in nine days.
Presenter Nick described the build as a “colossal job” but they were helped with hundreds of volunteers from across Telford and Shropshire.
Diy Sos Help Boy Come Home For First Time In 18 Months
The garden team were forced to strip it by hand, as there was no access for a mechanical digger for much of the time, having to lift it in by crane on day three.
An old extension was demolished and larger new foundations were put down slightly ahead of the build to give the team more space to work with, extending it around the side and back.
Best friends Gabe, Emily and Luke helped designer Gabrielle Blackman make the house personal to him, with fellow school friends popping along to see the team working hard during the build.
Working With Diy Sos
As well, the builders added an upstairs office where Matthew’s medicine could be stored, as well as fitted the house with a fully integrated alarm system and hoists to help his parents move Matthew around.
The team also added some Doctor Who-inspired touches to the interior decoration, in honour of Matthew’s love of the show, with help from a comic book artist and a signed picture from current doctor Peter Capaldi.
And the parents were brought to tears when they saw the results, with Matthew nodding as he saw his new bedroom designed to look like the Tardis.
Tributes To Pioneering Police And Crime Boss Winston Roddick
Addressing everyone, Leigh said: “You’ve done an amazing thing for us as a family and a really amazing thing for one little lad, our son Matthew.”
His family has previously said the £52, 000 raised by the local appeal for Matthew will go towards his ongoing treatment, paying for physiotherapy and new equipment.
Teacher Mrs Henry said: “The whole experience has been really good for the school because it has shown the children there are good people and they can do some good in this world.”
Diy Sos Fans In Tears Over Family's House Transformation To Help Disabled Son
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