Boost for paralysed Maisie, 16, after annex plans given green light
Maisie Lossau with her parents and the family dog. Picture: The Brain Tumour Charity - Credit: The Brain Tumour Charity
A paralysed teenager is one step closer to gaining independence after planners gave the go ahead for a specially-designed garden annex.
Broadland District Council backed plans for the building which will help Maisie Lossau, 16, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour in January 2016 when the family moved from Tuckswood to Russell Avenue in Spixworth.
Maisie Lossau pictured in July 2015 - Credit: Submitted
Her parents, Dawn and Darrell, 50 and 44, hope building work could start in the next couple of months and the annex, to be called Mal's Manor, will go at the bottom of the garden and replace a wooden summer house.
Mrs Lossau, a credit control manager for Leathes Prior Solicitors, said: "We are doing this to give Maisie independence. She is nearly 17 and who wants to live with their mum and dad when they are an adult. This will give her some freedom but allow her to be close to me and Darrell.
"She won't want us hanging around all the time. This is a lifetime build."
Maisie Lossau, 16, with her parents Dawn and Darrell at their Spixworth home - Credit: Dawn Lossau
Maisie has a carer, paid for by the NHS Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group and her father is also a full-time carer.
The four-bedroom family home has been adapted for the teenager but she needs a variety of equipment including two wheelchairs, an exercise bike, standing frame and large physiotherapy table.
The plans for the garden annex which will be built for Maisie Lossau in Spixworth - Credit: Dawn Lossau
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Her old bedroom will be turned into a physiotherapy space and the annex will include features to help her, including a hoist system and remote controlled doors and blinds.
Mrs Loussau said Maisie, whose tumour was stable, was excited about the build.
Maisie Lossau, 16, from Spixworth, who will be able to live more independently after a garden annex is built for her - Credit: Dawn Lossau
"Maisie is headstrong. We live each day as it comes but the progress she has made over the last two-three years is unbelievable. She has excelled herself. She is studying higher level GCSE maths online and loves it. Maisie is a maths genius," Mrs Lossau said.
The family applied to BBC DIY SOS in January this year to help build the annex but have not heard back yet.
However, after their plight was revealed by the Evening News several tradesmen and companies came forward to help which "overwhelmed" Mrs Lossau.
They have raised £20,000 for the project and anyone who wishes to help can visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/awesome3
