Family races against time to help Callum (From Free Press Series)

Family races against time to help Callum

DEVOTED parents Jane and Dean Arnold have less than a year to raise £34,000 for work to make their home more suitable for their five-year-old son, Callum.

Mr and Mrs Arnold want the vital work carried out to ensure Callum, who uses a wheelchair, can enjoy maximum independence.

They have been awarded a social services grant of £30,000, but need to find the rest of the money for the work, which is estimated at more than £70,000.

Mr and Mrs Arnold, of Wern Gifford, Pandy, Abergavenny, are providing more than £10,000, but the shortfall will have to be met from fundraising.

A condition of the grant they have received is that work has to start by January next year. Their son has a rare condition called Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, which is similar to cerebral palsy, but children with the syndrome develop a distressing habit of self-injury.

"He is severely disabled, he cannot sit up on his own and never will be able to because he has not got the strength in his back, but he is a happy wee soul who is very bright and doesn't miss a thing," said 37-year-old Mrs Arnold.

Callum is a mainstream pupil at Llanfihangel Crucorney County Primary School. His mum said: "He is doing all the same things as the other children, such as spellings.

Between the school and his one-to-one carer they find ways for him to do it. The other children are absolutely brilliant with him."

The family's home needs major alterations to make it suitable for the youngster.

The work includes a new entrance, a new kitchen, a special bath and hoists.

Raising the extra money is a tall order for Mrs Arnold, who is only able to work on a Saturday morning, for a building society, and her 34-year-old husband, who works for a railway company. Staff at Heronhurst, a local double- glazing company, are planning to help raise funds.

Mrs Arnold said they were also extremely grateful for the assistance they had received from Monmouthshire-based Care and Repair and In-Toto Kitchens, which was helping the family to find the right sort of kitchen furniture.