A CHARITY which is carrying out a home adaptation to give a new lease of life to a Flintshire woman is appealing for volunteers to help out.

Construction charity Band of Builders is preparing to begin the adaptation work at the home of Cher Little in Connah's Quay.

Mum-of-two Cher is a wheelchair user after a serious illness led to her legs having to be amputated.

And those doing the work for the charity, which supports families of construction industry staff, are self-employed tradespeople who give up their own time and also pay for their own accommodation so they can help.

An appeal has therefore gone out for anyone who could help supply food and drinks to keep the hungry workers going.

Cher, 46, is currently confined to one room in her home due to her using a wheelchair and so the adaptations are set to give her a new lease of life by making much more of the house accessible to her.

Cher fell ill with what she suspected was Covid on her birthday in October 2020, but her condition worsened and her husband Mark had to call 999. Paramedics were able to save her life before taking her to hospital where she was put on life support.

She was found to have meningococcal septicaemia and her body had gone into septic shock. At one point, her family were told she only had a 20 per cent chance of survival as her organs had started to shut down.

Battle for survival

But after a three-and-a-half month battle for survival, Cher pulled through. She was then told, however, that she needed to undergo an operation to amputate both legs below the knee, an operation which she underwent in February of this year.

Cher, who has a son Ryan, 19, and daughter Georgia, 23, is learning to walk again using prosthetics but relies on a wheelchair for mobility. This has meant that she has been confined to the living room of her house, with little privacy or freedom to move around.

Volunteers from the Band of Builders contacted the family to offer them support as Cher's husband is a plasterer, and this will be their biggest project to date.

Band of Builders supports members of the construction industry who have experienced injury or ill health through organising practical projects to help them.

Volunteers will adapt Cher's home in three phases, set to begin on October 16. This will include building a new extension to extend the living room, along with fitting a new low-level kitchen and wet room and refitting Cher's bedroom. They will also take out internal walls and widen doorways, with ramped access installed outside, making the house wheelchair-friendly.

Cher told The Leader that she couldn't quite believe this was going to happen, adding how grateful she was to all those involved in the project.

Band of Builders operations director Tony Steel said: "The volunteers who take part in our projects are predominantly self-employed and give up time they could be earning to come and help.

"They get themselves to the project and sort out accommodation without thinking twice about it, so as a charity we like to try to help by seeing if the local community wants to help keep them fed and watered.

"On previous projects, local businesses, neighbours and various other kind-hearted people have donated everything from tea and coffee to cakes, bacon butties and hot meals to keep the guys going throughout the project.

"An army really does march on its stomach so every little helps and it's a great way for the local community to get involved."

Anyone wishing to help feed and water the volunteers is asked to email info@bandofbuilders.org.