Small steps ...big hearts

STAYING positive . . . Steve and his wife Deborah

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A KIND-HEARTED community has rallied round to help a dad-of-five pay for a major house adaptation after he was struck down with a rare debilitating condition.

Stephen Lane (57) was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in August, 2014, two weeks after returning from a holiday in Rhodes.

When he complained of stomach sickness and cramps during the night, he thought nothing of it and was prescribed antibiotics.

But in no time at all, the keen footballer was left paralysed and in a coma after his body's immune system attacked part of his nervous system.

Wife Deborah (46), a support worker, said: "It was nothing major at first but then all of a sudden he was struggling to walk.

"He went downstairs to have a drink but missed his mouth. Everything he touched felt the same. He went into hospital that afternoon."

Mr Lane said: "Within 24 hours I was totally paralysed. I was put into an induced coma, had a tracheostomy and was placed on a respirator spending a month in intensive care. Then it was another month on a general ward before being admitted to the Floyd unit at Birch Hill for a further 14 months."

GBS affects only 1,200 people in the UK and in Mr Lane's case, the family do not know what triggered the syndrome which left him wheelchair-bound nor how far he will be able to recover.

On returning home in December, 2015, the couple learned that they must make a required contribution of £13,500 to the council for a home adaptation but with the support of family and friends are now looking at carrying out the work themselves.

Mrs Lane said: "It was a shock to realise we had to somehow find this money.

"But his friends who are traders have offered to build it themselves, some have said they will pay for materials and some have said they will do the labour free for us which is absolutely amazing."

Tradesmen including electricians, plumbers and contractors have put themselves forward to build the ground-floor single-storey extension at the family home in Moorside.

More than £17,000 has been raised for the project, which will incorporate a bedroom, wet room, kitchen extension and easy access to the garden, allowing Mr Lane to venture outside.

Mrs Lane, who wants to raise awareness about GBS, said: "His friends have been amazing.

"A core group he has known since his early-20s visited him in hospital week after week which was really good of them. They also encouraged all the fundraising."

Other friends of the family have completed the Total Warrior 10K challenge, Iron Man triathlon and organised a family fun day, which raised £7,896, in aid of the cause.

Chadderton's world champion boxer Anthony Crolla, Pablo Zabaleta, of Manchester City, and former Latics star James Tarkowski donated signed memorabilia for the raffle at the event at The White Hart, Royton, where Mr Lane used to play pool with his friends.

City fan Mr Lane said: "It was so well-attended, the pub was packed and people spilled over into the beer garden and car park."

A GoFundMe page was also set up by Mr Lane's niece, which has raised over £7,525 in under three months.

Mrs Lane said: "We are thinking long-term.He has always been an outdoor person, he spent his whole life travelling with work, he has played football and now he is stuck indoors constantly.

"So for him to be able to wheel outside is at least something. He is receiving physiotherapy to help but progress is very slow and we do not know to what extent he will recover.

"He can stand for a few moments but cannot grip anything with his hands and we have to feed, dress and wash him.

"Every six months, we visit a neuro specialist surgeon, who said Steve is one of the worst cases he has seen. It is not easy but we are getting there.

"Having the right facilities will make a difficult situation easier and we want to give him a better quality of life."