Christmas wish for 14-year-old Keira
SOS for painter and decorator to help finish space
THE countdown to Christmas is on – and for one Dunfermline girl, a new bedroom is at the top of her list.
Keira Alvarez-Turner, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and epilepsy, has spent her life being carried up and down the stairs by her parents, Debbie Turner and Ramon Alvarez.
But, in 2020, the 14-year-old started fundraising towards a £65,000 bid to create a fully-adapted and accessible space for her to call her own.
Work has been ongoing since the ‘Big Build’ began in December 2021 when AK Moyes, supported by a £20,000 Disabled Facilities Grant from Fife Council, started construction.
Now, mum Debbie says that all they need is a painter and decorator to help finish the space and make it Keira’s own.
She told the Press that she has had no luck finding someone to complete the project, with most tradesmen saying that they are unavailable until after Christmas.
“She (Keira) can use the shower and toilet downstairs but the bedroom is still dry-wall, we can’t get her bed down,” she explained.
“We originally thought this would be included in the build, if we had known we would have looked before.
“It is frustrating having to take her up and down the stairs still knowing we have a bedroom there, we want for her to be independent like she wants to be.”
The room will include a communication device which allows Keira to control the lights and TV herself, as well as a hoist to help lift her.
The couple remortgaged their home to pay a portion of the project, while the youngster raised £800 herself by completing a sponsored walk dressed as ‘Wonder Girl’.
“The whole way she has been giving her input,” Debbie continued.
“It’s lovely to see – she looks around and is like, ‘I did this’.”
The Calaiswood School and Dunfermline High School pupil visited Florida in July, where she receives annual physio treatment, for the first time since the pandemic.
The family raise £15,000 every year to complete the journey, which Debbie says is “intense” but makes a huge difference.
She added: “She hasn’t been since 2019 and in 2020 when everything broke out we already had the funds.
“It has been quite a Godsend, if COVID had never happened then we would have had to figure out how to fundraise more. She’s been complaining of ongoing pain in her leg and nobody could pinpoint it, when we went to America within 10 minutes they knew what the pain was and came up with a physio programme and she has been complaining much less.
“It’s a different outlook over there, here it is all down to her teachers, but they are not physiotherapists.
“It’s five days a week and four hours a day, it’s very intense but, after, she can stand better and sit better, she really enjoys it.”
And it wasn’t all work and no play, the family were able to visit Disneyworld while in the USA, where Keira enjoyed 11 rides.
They returned to a huge amount of building completed, as until then the contractors had been working around false walls to keep the project from impacting day-to-day life.
Debbie says this was essential, especially as their son, Rylee, lives with severe autism.
He wakes up multiple times during the night, often stirring Keira, who can suffer from seizures when waking up or drifting back to sleep.
The new bedroom will not only mean that she has peace, but that her parents won’t have to worry about these occurring while they deal with her soon-to-be 12-year-old brother.
Help has been given so far by Sullivan’s Heroes, a charity offering support for families raising money for vital home adaptations for disabled children, Stephen’s, the National Benevolent Charity, Cash for Kids, Exxonmobil, the Dunfermline Rotary Club, and CRSmith.
Anyone who can help make the final changes to Keira’s room can contact Debbie on turneralvarez@ outlook.com or through their Sullivan’s Heroes page at: sullivansheroes.org/projects/keiras-big-build