New lease of life for Leamington boy after house extension

Lee Neale, who is six years old, has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a severe and rare form of epilepsy that causes major developmental delays and scores of seizures every day.

With Lee unable to walk, it usually fell to his Mum Andrea to carry him upstairs to bed in their house in Alexandra Road.

However, with this process often causing seizures and Lee getting bigger and heavier, life was becoming very difficult for them both.

Lee’s mother Andrea contacted the council who assessed their needs and approved the building of an extension that would house both Lee’s bedroom and a wetroom on the ground floor.

Housebuilder and refurbishment specialists Lovell were tasked with the job of building the specialised extension, as well as refurbishing the family’s kitchen.

Andrea said: “This extension has made such a difference. Having everything on one level makes life so much easier for Lee and the rest of the family.

“Even little things, like being able to go for a shower in the wet room and still keep an eye on Lee, mean so much.

“With his new room, we can keep all his medical equipment in one place, we have a hoist that helps get him from bed to the bath, and we’ve also been able to add sensory lights which he loves.

“The changes have really been life-changing.”

Carl Yale, partnering manager at Lovell, said: “Jobs like this are a real privilege to do because you can see straight away how much difference it’s going to make to people’s lives.

“The lads loved coming to work here and built up a great rapport with Lee and Andrea.

“They took great pride in their work and I think it shows.”

Cllr Peter Phillips, portfolio holder for housing and property services for the council, added: “We are very pleased to see what a positive impact this refurbishment work has had on Lee and his family.

“This is just one of a number of projects we will be undertaking with Lovell over the next few months which includes kitchen and bathroom refurbishment and a range of disabled adaptations.

“We hope these works will go some way to improving the lives of our tenants in challenging circumstances.”