A family’s garden in Bo’ness has been given a makeover, thanks to the children’s charity WellChild.

Kirsty and Sean Hynde moved to the town a year ago with their six children, following a council house swap to an eight-bedroom home from their four bedroom in Camelon.

The family are happy in their new house; however, there was one major fly in the ointment – the large back garden was not accessible due to it being on several different levels.

The Hyndes desperately wanted to makeover the garden and when they saw an advert for WellChild’s Helping Hands programme, they decided to apply. It is a core part of the charity’s work in helping children with complex medical needs thrive at home and out of hospital.

Last month, the family were over the moon to learn that their application had been successful. Following lots of discussion with design project manager Kieran, he and volunteers from British Gas spent two days transforming the garden.

Now it is fully accessible to all the children – Maddison, 14, Jack, 13, Brodie, 11, Alexander, 8, Cameron, 7 and two-year-old Sebastian. Sadly, the family lost their little sister Harper.

While all the children love their new outdoor space, it was specially designed with Alexander in mind.

At 29 weeks pregnant, after a routine scan, Kirsty and Sean discovered that their son had microcephaly.

Kirsty said: “His head was not developing the way it should and, with a smaller head, the brain is that wee bit smaller as well which can lead to complications.”

Alexander has hypermobility, is registered blind, has communication difficulties and relies on a wheelchair for his mobility when outdoors.

He also requires full adult support when at home and at school to make sure his needs are being met. He is currently in P5 in the Thistle Wing at Kinnaird Primary in Larbert where he is supported by “wonderful teachers”.

However, it’s been a long road for Kirsty and Sean as it was a waiting game to find out how Alexander’s condition would affect him.

Kirsty explained: “When he was six months old, he had to go to Great Ormond Street for an operation to ensure his retinas had not detached.

“Luckily that went well, although they weren’t able to tell us the extent of his blindness – only he will be able to tell us but, because of his global development delays, he might not be able to.

“Alexander’s neurologist also gave us a long list of what could go wrong and prepared us for the future.

“Luckily, he’s surpassed quite a lot of milestones. They thought he might have to be tube fed but he’s got a great appetite!

“They weren’t sure he’d be able to walk at all. He started crawling when he was one and then tried to pull himself up. He took his first steps on his third birthday – it was the best present we could have asked for.

“He’s now able to walk around the house, although he relies on the wheelchair outside. We call him Tigger because he likes bouncing around. He likes to take a wee run at things and is constantly on the go!

“There was also concern that he wouldn’t have any kind of speech; he can now repeat things and has some speech.”

Kirsty, who has arthritis and fibromyalgia, is unable to work; Sean is now her full-time carer and together they are there to meet Alexander’s additional needs.

“He needs one to one supervision at home and he has a safe space bed, or he’d be wandering around all night,” explained Kirsty. “But it's fantastic to see how much he’s come on. We’re so proud of how he’s doing and he has wonderful teachers helping him too.”

Alexander loves the outdoors so being able to enjoy the garden safely with his siblings is a huge boost.

Kirsty added: “We saw the WellChild advert for the garden makeover and couldn’t believe it when Alexander was chosen.

“Kieran and the British Gas volunteers spent two days creating a beautiful sensory garden which, after filling a skip, is now all on one level. It’s all cornered off with a fence that has a big sensory board on it, which Alexander loves.

“He was a bit anxious the first day but within a few days he was out of the wheelchair and exploring. He enjoys being outdoors so he loves the garden.

“It’s something we’ve always wanted; it’s a dream come true to see all the kids enjoying it. We can’t thank WellChild and the team enough.”

More than 100,000 young people in the UK live with serious health needs. WellChild supports them through a network of children’s nurses working in the NHS, via bedroom and garden transformation projects and family advice services.

Matt James, WellChild CEO, said: “The Helping Hands programme is a core part of our work in helping children with complex medical needs to thrive at home.

“Alexander’s garden transformation, with help from the incredible volunteers from British Gas, is a wonderful example of this.

“His life will be enriched by the garden he can now access with his family where I’m sure they will make many happy memories.”