Generous builders adapt house for 10-year-old boy who lost his limbs

A team of generous builders teamed up to adapt the home of a 10-year-old boy who lost his arms and legs to a rare disease for free.

The generous traders stepped in to help North Yorkshire’s Luke Mortimer, who had a quad amputation after being stricken with meningococcal meningitis.

The serious bacterial infection quickly spread throughout his body and when Luke was diagnosed in 2019, he lost 50 percent of his skin and spent five months in hospital.

He later moved into a bungalow that his father, Adam Mortimer, had begun transforming for his needs, before contacting the Band of Builders charity for a helping hand.

And the team were only too happy to take on the project and have already installed a new shower room, underfloor heating and new wooden floors.

The stunning work is expected to be completed later this week, but Luke said he was overwhelmed by the progress the team had made in just a few days.

He thanked all the builders for their hard work and said ‘I can’t believe how fast everything has gone, looking forward to thanking and hugging everyone at the end’.

Delighted father Adam also praised the charity for being “absolutely amazing” and said his son was “ecstatic” about the project’s progress.

He said: ‘The construction has helped us a lot, it has put the house where we need to be so that Luke can have what he needs in the house.

‘The Band of Builders was absolutely amazing! Giving up their time and working long hours to keep the project on track.

Luke is ecstatic that his room is now paneled and plastered and is planning his room’s color scheme.

‘[He]has, as usual, charmed all the builders and has taken everything in its slightly smaller step.’

Formerly a keen rugby player for North York’s Skipton RFC, Luke was just seven when he was stricken with the terrible disease on December 13, 2019.

And he was transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital, where doctors discovered that life-threatening septicemia, also known as septicemia, had developed in his body.

Although he survived the deadly disease, he lost all his limbs and required 23 painful surgeries over a ten-week period to replace the missing skin and address his wounds.

John Firth, a family friend who set up a donation page for him, wrote at the time of the incident that his rugby-crazy family’s life was turned upside down after his illness.

He said: ‘Luke was a 7-year-old budding rugby player, a bundle of joy who had embraced life even at a young age and made every day a happy day.

‘His whole family was part of the rugby community, his father coached many youngsters of the age range and his mother ran a recycling stand for children’s rugby kits, ensuring that the young boys and girls always had the right equipment to play and train in. .

“While the rest of us bought and wrapped Christmas presents, family life was turned upside down.

On December 13, 2019, Luke fell ill with meningococcal meningitis.

“Luke’s young life has been saved, but the illness has taken its toll on his tiny body.” He has proven himself to be a fighter, but his life and that of his mom, dad and big brother will never be the same again.”

Over the next few years, Luke endured endless sessions of physical therapy and rehabilitation, always sporting his trademark beaming smile.

He later learned to walk – and run – on prosthetic legs.

And thanks to fundraising and donations from an army of benefactors, he also received his first robotic “hero” arms so he could do more for himself.

The bungalow where Luke now lives was previously adapted for a man who was paralyzed from the waist down.

Luke’s father Adam, a builder by trade, had worked on it before asking the Band of Builders for help.

The charity was founded in 2016 when the traders came together to renovate the home of a man diagnosed with terminal cancer

Thanks to the incredible response from builders across the UK, the project was completed and demonstrated what can be achieved when the industry works together.