BOB STEPS IN TO HELP SO THAT LUKE CAN FINALLY GO HOME – THREE YEARS AFTER SUFFERING CATASTROPHIC BRAIN ANEURYSM

Band of Builders has answered the call from a suffolk family who are desperate to get their 20-year-old son home – more than three years after he suffered a catastrophic brain aneurysm, which left him requiring round-the-clock care at a specialist neurological care centre in Ipswich.

We are set to build a ground-floor extension at the property of David Hannatt and Karen Goold so that their eldest, Luke Goold-Hannatt, can finally return home, reuniting the family under one roof again.

Trainee bricklayer Luke was just 17 years old when he suffered an aneurysm known as an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in January 2020. Mum Karen said his chances of survival were not good as he underwent life-saving surgery at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge to release the pressure to his brain.

Luke has been left with profound disabilities, which require constant care. He is now able to move one leg and one of his arms, and although he cannot speak, he communicates by blinking and raising his eyebrows, as well as using an alphabet chart to spell out words.

Following the surgery, he was moved back to Ipswich Hospital before being transferred to a rehabilitation centre in Norwich. From there, he was moved to the Sue Ryder Neurological Care Centre The Chantry in Ipswich in January last year, where he receives specialist neurological care.

David and Karen have been trying to fundraise the estimated £100,000 needed for the extensive renovations to create a wet room and two bedrooms on the ground floor for Luke and a live-in carer.

We are putting out a call for volunteer plant workers, bricklayers, builders, roofers, plumbers, electricians, decorators and other tradespeople to volunteer their time to help on the project, which is scheduled to start in June and will take approximately four weeks to complete.

Our Operations Director Tony Steel said: “We’re on a mission to get Luke home and back where he belongs: with his family.

“Three years is a long time to be separated from his parents and younger brother and sister – and it has been especially hard for them because they had to endure all the restrictions around COVID, which meant they weren’t able to spend precious time with Luke.

“The family put out an appeal at the back end of last year to fundraise the money so that they can get Luke home before Christmas this year. We’re on track to get him home six months early.”

David and Karen said: “We cannot thank Band of Builders enough for stepping in and helping us to get Luke home. It will mean the world to him to be back home with his family so that he, us and his brother and sister Daniel and Jade can be a family once more.

“The restrictions around Covid meant it was really tough for us - but since the restrictions have been lifted and we have been able to visit Luke, and he has been much happier. And he’s really excited at the prospect of finally coming home.”

The charity has already secured DEWALT as the headline sponsor for Luke’s project.