GARDEN MAKEOVER WILL BRING FAMILY “MORE MEMORIES”

A young Halesowen family have thanked volunteers from Band of Builders (BoB) who helped transform their back garden into a safe space to play for their six-year-old son Myles – who was born with a congenital heart defect.

We answered a call for help, as the school playground and the play area in his local park present dangers for Myles because he’s on blood-thinning medication – which means he has to be ultra careful not to fall and cut himself, especially as he tires very easily and can become disorientated.

Tradespeople from across the UK volunteered their time for free to landscape the garden as part of the eight-day project.

When Myles saw his new play area, he was understandably shy at being the centre of attention, but dad Anthony gave a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the volunteers who were there to see Myles take his first steps into his new garden and play area.

“Our family can make more memories because we know that it’s a safe environment for Myles to play and experience the outdoors,” said Anthony Maxwell.

“Whether they gave an hour, a day, or a week to help with this project for Myles, we are grateful to everyone. Thanks to their efforts, Myles can now play safely in the garden, and it is already making a real difference.

Myles’s story

Myles Maxwell was born with a congenital heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which means the left side of his heart is missing. There is no known cause or cure.

The six-year-old has already had three open-heart surgeries – the first of which happened when he was just two days old.

Myles is a fighter and has endured many trips to the ICU (including life support), chest drains, feeding tubes and ventilators, as well as a constant battery of appointments for scans and blood tests.

He is now at school and happily plays with other children but is always apologetic that he has to take time-outs to catch his breath. He tires very easily and can become disorientated.

The school playground and the play area in his local park also present dangers for Myles because he’s on blood-thinning medication – which means he has to be ultra careful not to fall and cut himself.

His parents, Anthony (a water industry engineer) and Rebecca, turned to BoB for help to create a back garden space where Myles can play in safety at home and at his own pace.

Myles is limited to how far he can walk and what he can manage. He struggles to play or travel to anywhere that requires distance, as his oxygen levels are so much lower than other children his age. He runs out of breath and cannot manage to walk or run to keep up with other children – much to his frustration.

BoB completes project 46

When the Maxwell family reached out to BoB for help, we put out a call for volunteers from our 50,000-strong community of supporters, as well as our corporate supporters.

Our longstanding National Landscaping Partner Talasey was the headline sponsor for this project and its Marketing Director Rebecca Hughes said that the company was happy to support a garden makeover that would change Myles’s life for the better.

“Talasey has been a steadfast supporter of BoB since 2019 and we have donated thousands of pounds worth of landscaping products for our beneficiary projects that involve garden adaptations and upgrades,” she said.

“What the volunteers have done has been nothing short of remarkable and we’ve loved seeing all daily progress videos to see the transformation unfold – and the Maxwell family’s joy when they stepped into their new outdoor space for the first time. We hope they can now make memories for many years to come.”

Other companies that made donations to this project included: Reconomy for providing the skips, HSS DIY for supplying the fence panels, Jewson UK for providing the dumper and digger, and Travis Perkins for delivering materials including cement and postcrete.

We would like to thank following local businesses for providing sustenance: The White Horse Pub for hosting and feeding the team with lunches and dinners, Glam Rasoi for providing delicious food and Universal Beers – keeping the team refreshed with soft drinks.