Mum of terminally ill Ross-shire lad (6) takes coronavirus lockdown in her stride and thanks everyone for making care pod dream come true
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THE Ross-shire mum of a terminally ill boy being shielded from the threat of coronavirus has paid tribute to the hundreds of people who have transformed his life in lockdown.
Six-year-old Reece Mitchell is suffering from a rapidly progressing and extremely rare form of Batten disease which has robbed him of the ability to walk, talk and see.
Determined mum Donna, who was struggling to carry him up and down the stairs for baths, set her heart on securing a purpose-built £60,000 care pod to ensure he can spend his final days in comfort at home.
Fundraisers touched by the family's plight swung into action staging scores of events ranging from a breakfast with Santa to a hugely successful ladies night, hitting the target at the turn of the year.
The timing proved to be life-changing as it allowed the pod, complete with bedroom, bathroom and living space, to be installed in the garden of Ms Mitchell's North Kessock home just weeks before lockdown.
She said: "It's such an amazing place and with lockdown it couldn't have come at a better time. I had seen it in the workshop but I still had to pinch myself when it arrived.
"The public has done Reece proud. It makes a massive difference. To say this has been life-changing is not an overstatement and because of the timing, I haven't been able to thank everyone who made this possible."
Read the full story inside today's North Star.
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