Campaign to get Kyle his own room

EFFORTS to raise funds for a local young man with additional needs are continuing online following a successful charity walk.

Nicole Hill from Cavan is hoping to raise enough money to provide her son, Kyle, who has cerebral palsy and other health complications with some basic equipment to make his daily life better.

Cerebral Palsy means that Kyle, who will turn 18 soon, is unable to walk. He is also non-verbal, has epilepsy and has to be fed through a peg into his stomach via a machine.

At present, the entrance into Kyle’s home is barely wide enough to fit the teenager’s wheelchair through. There is no ramp for Nicole to navigate Kyle’s wheelchair in and out of his front door.

Kyle’s shower at home is also too small so, for the past year, his school undertook to shower him there.

Nicole has described how she has to lift Kyle in and out of bed several times a day on her own. When they tried to attach a hoist to do that job, the walls in her home wouldn’t support it.

A grant of €40,000 from Cavan County Council has helped towards building Kyle a room of his own with a wet room and hoist so that he can be lifted from his bedroom to a purpose-built shower.

A wide door and ramp is still needed, however.

So, Nicole set up a fundraiser called Kyle’s Own Room with the aim of raising enough money to install all the necessary equipment she needs to care for her son at home.

A recent fundraising walk in aid of Kyle’s Own Room raised a total of €2,825 but there is still some way to go. The GoFundMe page, meanwhile, has raised over €6,000 of a €16,000 target.

Bailieborough Walking Group facilitated the charity event, while the Bailieborough Development Association lent their facilities and local people provided refreshments on the day.

The Kyle’s Own Room GoFund me page is still active and receiving donations.

If you would like to help Nicole change Kyle’s world then you can visit: www.gofundme.com/f/kyles-own-room