CHARITY BUILD
Kevin McGowan (centre) and his wife Margaret with the Band of Brothers team and some of the volunteers who gave their time on the project.
CONSTRUCTION VOLUNTEERS PRAISED FOR BUILDING A “LIFE-CHANGING” EXTENSION FOR A TOOMEBRIDGE MAN BED-BOUND FOR A DECADE… NI construction industry comes out in force to help one of its own
V olunteers from the construction charity Band of Builders (BoB) have been hailed as heroes for building an extension in 10 days at the home of a former bricklayer from Toomebridge, Co. Antrim. Kevin McGowan has been bed-bound for a decade with a rare neurological disorder, which means he requires round-the- clock care. His wife, Margaret, said that the newly built sunroom means Kevin can now look out and enjoy the view of his garden for the first time since he was diagnosed with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in 2012. In an emotional thank you in front of nearly 100 BoB volunteers, suppliers of
materials, local businesses and well- wishers, Margaret said that the new sunroom will be life-changing for Kevin, a 65-year-old father of six, who was initially told his life expectancy could be as little as three months. “Words can’t explain how grateful we are for what Band of Builders has done – he can not only look out on the garden but can also go outside, thanks to the wheelchair access,” said Margaret. “This is life-changing and makes a massive difference to his quality of life. “As a former builder himself, Kevin said that the quality of the work is first class and the team on site have been brilliant. And the finishing touches, such as the new monitoring system and CCTV,
mean that I can check on Kevin from anywhere in the house.” Tradespeople from across Northern Ireland – as well as others who came across from the UK mainland – rallied round to help on the project for Kevin, who has PML: an extremely rare condition that has almost never occurred in a previously healthy individual. It causes irreversible brain damage and has no successful treatment to date, usually resulting in death within a year of diagnosis. Although Kevin has limited speech and movement and has to be fed via a tube, he is grateful that he has been able to see his children grow up – including son Cathal, who sent a thank you message
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