Big push to get sensory garden for little Freya
A severely disabled schoolgirl is the Scots frontrunner in a competition to have a life-changing sensory garden built at her home.
Eight-year-old Freya Hunter is blind and suffers from severe cerebral palsy, epilepsy and chronic respiratory problems meaning she relies on oxygen therapy to survive.
Mum Carolynne, 45, entered her into the Magical Garden Makeover competition last month because her complex needs often leave her confined to their home in Tillicoultry.
Now, the backing of an army of supporters, from politicians, to medics and football stars, has seen her rank number two out of more than 1,500 applicants. Voting ends on Sunday.
Carolynne said: “It’s very difficult to take Freya out and about so for her to get fresh air in her own home and in a nice environment would be amazing.
“She is really just confined to her bedroom when she’s not at school.
“To take her for a walk from the house is impossible, you have to take her out in a vehicle to any events.
“During the bad snow recently international rescue had to bring her medical staff to her because of where we live.”
The mum-of-four said she was inspired to apply when she painted a picture of a colourful garden during a respite day at a local hospice and opened her emails to see the competition the next day.
She said the garden would be a special place for the whole family to enjoy after a difficult few years, which has seen eldest son Scott, 24, endure ongoing treatment for testicular cancer.
Carolynne said: “It would make a big difference to my family’s lives, Freya especially.
“Freya is blind but she can hear, which means a lot to her. To make the garden accessible for her so she can lie and listen to the birds and all the different sounds would mean everything.
“It would be great for us to spend time together as a family and for me, I don’t have a lot of respite, so it would even be nice for me and Freya’s nurse to be able to go out and enjoy it too.”
The competition, run by mybuilder.com, features a string of other Scots entries, with an Edinburgh school and a Crieff nursing home also ranking in the top ten.
But Freya’s entry is currently leading the