Mum-of-two who lost both legs left 'speechless' after volunteer builders adapt house

Cher Little had both her legs amputated in February this year and spent more than three months in hospital after contracting an infection.

A mother-of-two who had both her legs amputated after contracting an infection has been left 'speechless' by the kindness of strangers.

Cher Little, from Connah's Quay in Flintshire, now uses a wheelchair and has been largely confined to one room in her house as the rest of the property is not accessible.

However that is set to change as a group of selfless volunteers are giving up their time to renovate her house. The project will see things like a new lower-level kitchen and a wet room fitted.

Ms Little said she "can't quite believe this is going to happen" and is "so grateful to everyone involved".

In October, doctors had made the difficult decision to amputate bother of Ms Little's legs in order to save her life.

Ms Little was rushed to hospital on her birthday in October 2020 after falling ill. Once there, her condition worsened and she was put on life support.

Doctors discovered the 46-year-old had a rare blood infection called Meningococcal Septicaemia, which had caused septic shock. They then gave her family the devastating news that she had just a 20% chance of survival.

Doctors made the tough decision to amputate both of Ms Little's legs below the knee in February 2021. Now back at home after more than three months in hospital, she is learning to walk again with the help of prosthetics. However the life-changing surgery means Ms Little relies on a wheelchair most of the time.

Her home is not accessible for someone using a wheelchair, so she is left spending most of her time in her living room.

That is set to change though, as a massive house renovation is planned thanks to the help of charity Band of Builders. It heard of Ms Little's story and offered to help. The charity helps people across the UK who have been affected by serious health conditions or injuries.

This project will include building Ms Little a new extension, adding a new lower-level kitchen and wet room and refitting her bedroom. Volunteers will also remove internal walls and widen doorways with ramped access outside to make allow her to move around independently.

Ms Little said: “At the moment we can’t quite believe this is actually going to happen.“I’ve had a huge amount of support from people around me, including my sister who I owe a big thank you to, but the thought of complete strangers coming to do this for us has left us a bit speechless.

“It’s going to make a huge difference, not just to me but to all of us, and we’re just so grateful to everyone involved.”

Ms Little is learning to walk again using prosthetics but relies on a wheelchair for much of the time.

Tony Steel from Band of Builders said: "Cher’s life has been irreversibly changed by her condition and she’s currently confined to one room in the house, with little privacy."We’re hoping the changes we are planning will help improve not only her quality of life, but the whole family’s, and help them move forward after what has been an incredibly difficult time.

"The project will be our biggest to date, with our volunteers coming from across the country to help Cher and her family."This is the charity's 20th project to date and will be completed in three phases, with the first phase already underway.