Mansfield family fundraise to adapt home for three year old Mason

Mason's story

Mason Burrows was born at King’s Mill Hospital at just 31 weeks, weighing a tiny 2lb 4oz.

Mason’s devastated family watched as he was rushed straight to NICU for respiratory and nutritional support.

Mason’s mum, Molly Sharp said: “At three weeks old we received the news he had deteriorated and required ventilating.

“He had an infection called necrotising enterocolitis and needed surgery to remove a large portion of his bowel.

“We were told Mason’s survival rate was 25 percent.

“After eight long hours he returned from surgery alive but critically ill.”

A week later, following a routine brain scan, Molly said her and Mason’s dad, Reece Burrows, ‘fell apart’ after the scan showed bleeds on both sides of his brain.

The prognosis was unclear but Molly and Reece were told by doctors cerebral palsy was highly likely.

After taking Mason home at the age of five months old, Mason began having seizures .

The now three-year-old has been diagnosed with four limb spasticity cerebral palsy, epilepsy, visually impaired and brain damage, and has a mental and physical age three to six months.

Fundraising for home adaptations

Now, the family are raising £10,000 to adapt their family home for Mason.

Molly, aged 21, said: “Mason has a lot of equipment and can get claustrophobic with it all in our small living room.

“We would like to extend the living room through to the back garden, to make more space for his standing frame, chair, pushchair and a walker .”

The home adaptations will also include the bathroom and separate toilet being combined into a wetroom, which will make it much easier to bathe Mason.

Mason, who lives in Ladybrook with mum Molly, dad Reece Burrows aged 22, and baby sister Phoebe, aged nine weeks ,often gets confused because of his medication.

Molly added: “He will be on medication for the rest of his life, which includes Baclofen, Diazepam, Levetiracetam and Melatonin.

“Mason is physically unable to do the things a three year old would be doing.

“We have a lot of equipment for Mason but unfortunately due to his spasticity and the pain he is unable to withstand using them.”

Molly and Reece fundraise for the home extension with raffles, fundraising events and competitions, which you can take part in here: facebook.com/masonburrows24Raffles and competitions have included prizes of alcohol, tickets to a Stags home league match, and tickets to an evening with Tyson Fury.

Along with a justgiving page, £1,500 has been raised so far.

Molly added: “We want people to get involved with our fundraising, and have fun!”

To donate and hear more of Mason’s story, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowd