Fundraiser launched to help Pontefract family pay for home adaptations for seven-year-old Jacob, who has a rare brain condition

A Just Giving page has been launched, aiming to contribute £10,000 towards home adaptations which would help a Pontefract family care for seven-year-old Jacob, who has a rare brain condition.

Jacob lives in Pontefract with his mum Laura – who cares for him full-time – dad Stu, and two sisters Alexis, nine, and Luna, three.

Stu said Jacob started having seizures two weeks before his second birthday and, following an MRI scan, was diagnosed with lissencephaly – a rare brain condition.

Stu said modifications to their home, including a downstairs bedroom and a conversion of the outhouse into a bathroom, will help meet Jacob’s additional needs and improve his quality of life.

Currently, Jacob must be carried up to his room, which, with Jacob getting older and heavier, Stu said “is a risk. We need a bedroom down stairs.”

He said: “He needs a space for himself so he can play and do his physio.”

The renovation would allow Jacob to “have his own toys out and play and explore,” he added.

The total cost of the improvements is £85,000, and a grant from the council will cover around £55,000 – with £10,000 of this set aside for equipment.

Stu said the remaining £40,000 is self-funded, and the family will have to take out a loan.

The fundraiser, set up by a family friend, aims to reduce what the family will have to borrow.

Stu said: “Minimising the amount we have to borrow is going to make everything easier.

“That would be a dream come true to raise £10,000. It’s just anything that could get towards it to make life a bit easier.”

The family previously lived in Castleford, but were told that home was not suitable for adapting to Jacob’s needs.

Their current home in Pontefract was deemed suitable for adapting, and they were able to join a waiting list once they moved in July 2023.

The family have now reached the top of the list, and hope for the adaptations to be completed this summer.