A DIY SOS mum went through every family's worst nightmare as she was forced to make the horrific decision to switch off her daughter's life support a decade ago. And tragically, Caroline Blanchard had to make the same decision ten years on with her husband Paul, as reported by the Daily Record.
The single mum was left with the heart-wrenching decision to lose two members of her family in the same way, and has been reminded by the events daily. Before the DIY SOS team appeared on the scene, the family were left with the visual reminders of horrible events that had taken two family members' lives.
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The ordeal began with an accident in their garage back in 2007, leading to seven-year-old daughter Natasha sadly losing her life. Caroline, who now lives with her two kids Reece and Paige, couldn't enter two rooms in her home due to triggering memories that caused her pain.
Natasha was just seven when she hit her head playing in the garage near to dad Paul. Natasha was playing around on a mini motorbike while Paul searched for a helmet inside.
After she banged her head off a cupboard, she seemed to be alright, telling Paul: "It's OK, Daddy." But her condition worsened almost immediately, and she was rushed to accident and emergency.
A tearful Caroline said on Tuesday night's DIY SOS episode: "I just remember the surgeon coming in and telling me she was bleeding that badly she couldn’t stop it." Doctors delivered the devastating news to Caroline and Paul - explaining that Natasha needed to be taken off a life-support machine.
Sadly, Natasha passed away two days after the accident, and Paul was stricken with grief and guilt surrounding the whole incident. The avid motorbike fan decided to get rid of all bikes he owned, and sat in the garage for hours trying to come to terms with the tragic loss.
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In September 2012, mum Caroline gave birth to Paige Hope, whose name was chosen by son Reece as he felt it was a "new chapter in their lives". Both Caroline and Paul still struggled to deal with the loss of their daughter - with Paul losing the "sparkle" from his eye, Caroline explained.
Paul continued to suffer with ill health and went to hospital a whopping 22 times, but was repeatedly turned away, as doctors told him it was all anxiety. However, in 2016, just days after he complained of chest pains, Paul suffered a cardiac arrest at home in front of his wife and daughter.
Caroline said: “He would suffer with chest pains and palpitations, they kept saying it was stress and anxiety from the loss of Natasha. We were just sat in the conservatory and he just made this horrendous noise.
"I looked at him and said 'Paul are you alright?' and he stood up but he had his arms in the chair, he took the whole chair with him, and just fell clean to the floor and started convulsing.”
Paul was placed on a life support machine, but Caroline was then forced into making a horrific decision once again, as she switched off his machine, ending his suffering. Following these two horrific events, Caroline decided to donate both Paul and Natasha's organs to help those who were in need.
Paul did not have life insurance, so Caroline has been forced to continue working despite her anxiety playing a huge part in her life. Caroline and her kids had to live with a constant reminder of their grief - the garage and the conservatory where the two cruel tragedies occurred.
However, the family do not want to move away as there were also a lot of happy memories with Paul and Natasha in the home. In a chat with presenter Nick Knowles, son Reece admitted: "I just wish I could see my dad again. That would be amazing if I could.”
Help was on hand as the DIY SOS team, award-winning garden designer Arit Anderson and a band of volunteers descended on Scunthorpe. They want to give the Blanchards a chance to move forward while still remembering their loved ones, so decide to demolish the garage and conservatory.
Before the show aired, a friend of the family told Grimsby Live: "Caroline, Reece and Paige are grieving and trying to re-build their lives without their father, husband and sister. But there are two huge obstacles to their mental health; the daily visual reminders of the garage and the conservatory, where their two loved ones died.
“Caroline and Reece are going through grief counselling but back at home they’re constantly re-living the traumas, as the garage is a monument in the middle of the back garden to Natasha’s death and is where Paul lost himself to his grief. He would sit in there for hours trying to come to terms with what happened. The conservatory has never been used since that traumatic day, the doors are kept shut.
“Reece has lost his Dad – it’s been tough. He’s talking to his friends, to help release his anger, hurt and loss. Both Caroline and Reece don’t want to leave their home and turn their back on the good memories. It’s close to family support and the kid’s schools but Caroline has reached an emotional impasse.”
Back in April 2020, Nick and his team gave themselves just five days to redesign the house and give the family a fresh start. And the tragedies surrounding this rebuild had all of the DIY SOS team feeling emotional.
Nick said on the show: "Today a community come together to help a family in desperate need. It’s a story of loss, of crippling grief and of a community who battle the elements to support a devastated family.
“It’s going to be an emotional journey for us all. But by wiping away the painful memories we’re building to give a grieving family the chance to start to move forward.”
More than 300 volunteers arrived to help complete the project and almost all of the building materials were donated by local tradespeople and suppliers.
Paolo Proto, executive producer of DIY SOS: The Big Build, said: "To see so many incredible volunteers come out and support a local family is truly heart-warming, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank every last one of them.
“The community of volunteers and trades has changed the lives of Caroline and her family and left a legacy that will continue long after the TV programme is forgotten. It’s amazing what can be done when people help each other.”
The build would have cost more than £75,000 without the generosity of the volunteers, and Caroline could not be more grateful to the team that helped her get her life back on track.
Nick said on the show: "We weren’t sure ourselves whether we could do this as a five-day build. But it’s pretty amazing what you’ve achieved. Remember that you’ve made the change, not us.”
And Nick has been keeping in touch with the family, getting involved in a chat over on social media with Caroline. When asked by Nick on Twitter how they were enjoying their renovated home, Caroline tweeted back: “It’s amazing, absolutely love every inch of the whole place, so overwhelming what everyone has done for us, able to come downstairs and enjoy a coffee in the sunshine is priceless.”
You can rewatch DIY SOS: The Big Build on BBC iPlayer.
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