Dig deep for brave mason
Efforts to help Mason (8)
A fundraiser will be held in a bid to raise cash to transform the garden of a wheelchairbound Whitehill boy.
Family and friends are rallying to help give Mason Johnstone (8) a fun and secure place to play and explore in.
A psychic night will be held at Udston Social Club on Saturday, September 17.
A desperate fundraising appeal has been launched to help give a wheelchair-bound Whitehill youngster a better garden to spend time in.
Eight-year-old Mason Johnstone suffers from a number of medical conditions including global development delay, an underactive thyroid and diabetes.
A pupil of Victoria Park School in Carluke, which caters for children with additional support needs, Mason also struggles with his hearing and sight.
His parents, Sheila and Colin, have been battling with South Lanarkshire Council to have the garden at the family home adapted for their boy.
Although the local authority carried out work inside the house, the family say only minimal work has been done outside to support their son.
However, the council argue that they have worked closely with the family, carrying out extensive adaptations both internally and externally. They say they sympathise, but further improvements are “not essential in terms of having an accessible and safe home environment which meets the immediate needs of the family”.
The family moved into the property on Auchinraith Avenue with Mason, and his brothers Dean (22) and Kyle (20), two years ago.
Sheila said: “When we moved into the house about two years ago, the council adapted it for Mason. In the garden, they came out and took some shrubs away and told me they would level it out, but they haven’t.
“The garden needs to be more secure as some of Mason’s specialist equipment is out there – we need a higher fence and gate. We also need the garden all levelled out, as even when Mason is out of his wheelchair, he can only bum shuffle, so he has been stuck indoors the last two summers.”
Fed up with the progress being made by the council, a family friend is organising a fundraising psychic night in the hope of raising the cash to transform the back garden into a sensory area Mason can enjoy.
Gemma Mccrory, who has known Mason since birth, said: “The night will be held in Udston Social Club on September 17. Many local businesses have donated raffle prizes such as The Gym in Hamilton. The Mecca bingo has donated a VIP night for two.
“Mason’s garden has not been very private and doesn’t suit his needs at all. I am trying to raise enough money to get him the garden he deserves.”
South Lanarkshire Council’s Danny Lowe, director of housing and technical services, said: “We can confirm that extensive internal and external adaptations have been carried out to the tenancy and the immediate garden area.
“Additional slabs have been laid to extend the pathway and allow for their son to manoeuvre his wheelchair, a boundary fence has been erected and some shrubs have been removed.’’
To find out, visit the ‘Help A Garden For Mason As Council Refuse Community Support’ page on Facebook.