A Newquay family’s £50,000 bid to adapt home for Jude, 4

Every widened doorway, every metre of hard flooring, every ramp has a cost attached to it, and for one Newquay family working out how to pay for all of it has become as pressing as finding the right house in the first place.

Jude is four. He was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at just three months old, and his parents, Jessica Wingfield and Connor, have launched a £50,000 appeal to adapt a new home around his needs as he grows.

A diagnosis that came at six weeks old

Jess and Connor had, in their words, the easiest pregnancy, and spent it imagining the ordinary things: first steps, the park, holidays. Jude was born not breathing, and at just six weeks old he became critically unwell, turning blue and struggling for oxygen. Weeks of testing followed, and the family were eventually told his bloods were abnormal. The diagnosis was Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare and life-limiting genetic condition that causes muscles to weaken and waste over time.

Jude cannot walk yet, though his parents hope that may still be possible one day. As DMD progresses it is likely to affect his heart, lungs and swallowing muscles, and the condition also carries a higher chance of autism, developmental delay and speech delay, all of which the family say Jude is already experiencing.

A house that has to grow with him

The family’s current home has neither the space nor the accessibility Jude will need as he gets bigger and heavier, and carrying him around, manageable now, will not stay that way. After looking at every option available to them, they found a new property with the shape and potential to be adapted, but turning it into a home that works for Jude is a substantial job.

The list includes converting the garage into an accessible bedroom and wet room, widening doorways, laying hard flooring throughout, knocking through a wall to make the kitchen accessible, adding ramps and a new accessible front door, and creating space for physiotherapy and equipment. Further down the line, the family expect to need specialist items such as an electric changing bed and a ceiling hoist.

Why the family are asking for help

Jess and Connor say that, because of their circumstances, they do not qualify for much of the financial or housing support they had hoped might be available to them, which pushed them onto the open market to find somewhere workable at all. A Disabled Facilities Grant will help with the adaptations, but the family say it will not come close to covering the full cost, and disability equipment does not come cheap.

A month into the appeal, more than £2,000 of the £50,000 target has been donated. Jess and Connor say the aim is simple: somewhere Jude can grow up “comfortable, safe, cared for with dignity” and included, without accessibility being just another barrier in his life.

They’ve said that anyone who can’t donate can still help enormously just by sharing Jude’s story, and the family are posting updates on Instagram at @heyjudehome.