A Rhondda town and beyond has come together to help get a beloved member of their community home after he suffered a neurological condition that has left him with paraplegia and stuck in hospital for months.
Paul Davies, from Ferndale, was rushed to hospital on October 28, 2022, after collapsing and losing all feeling in his legs. After multiple tests, he was diagnosed with Longitudinally Extensive Transverse Myelitis (LETM), which is a neurological condition causing an inflammatory lesion of the spinal cord. Paul had to have plasma treatment, a plasma transfusion and spent his 60th birthday and Christmas in hospital. Once stabilised, he was then transferred to a rehabilitation hospital.
The 60-year-old now has paraplegia and requires his house to be adapted before he is able to return home. He's been able to visit home on the occasional weekend but desperately needs adaptions to live safely. While a disabled facilities grant (DFG) is available from the council to cover some of the cost of standard adoptions, the couple are required to make a financial contribution of their own towards the work.
Read more: Woman goes for routine eye test and is diagnosed with rare brain condition
Due to his condition, Paul requires a through-the-ceiling lift to help him to live safely. Based on the outcome of a means test, the couple claims they have been told that they would need to pay £15,000 towards the lift - a sum of money they can’t afford to pay on their own.
Since going into hospital, and rehabilitation, Paul has faced many setbacks both mentally and physically and his wife Angela Davies, his children, and grandchildren are desperate to get him home. Angela was at a loss for how to fund the home adaptions, especially during a cost-of-living crisis and near retirement. She added: “Who's going to give me £15,000? If I went to a bank at 63 years of age and got another three years in work, they won’t give me £15,000.”
In an effort to help the couple, her friend Fiona Stevens started a GoFundMe page to raise £7,500 towards the through-the-ceiling lift. Fiona described Paul as “a very well-known and popular person in the community.” So far they’ve reached the target and now hope to raise the full £15,000.
Angela said: “It’s amazing - it’s overwhelming. We are well-known in the community. My husband has done a lot of sports - he's played cricket, rugby, golf, dominoes and darts. He was a postman so he knows a lot of people. He was also a financial advisor and had a lot of clients.” Angela is also known in the community for helping out in schools and charities with food donations, and used to work in a care home.
She added: “I just can’t believe that people are so generous. Everybody's finding it hard with the cost of living - but people are giving £20, £50, and hundreds. I can’t believe it.”
Fiona, known as FS Maerdy, who set up the GoFundMe page 'Let's Get Paul Home' on behalf of her friend, said: “I run a big Facebook group specifically to help people in need. I do food parcels through the group, help domestic violence victims, help people furnish their homes - it's for people in financial need.
“I've known Angela the last couple of years and I was aware of what's happened to her husband. She's always giving to other people - he's a very well-known and popular person in the community - I just think it's about time we show them gratitude and try to help them now that they need help.”
You can find out more information or donate to Paul's fundraiser here.
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