Help Chester family fund a new home for disabled son Morgan

Twins Morgan and James Pomeroy, 16, are survivors of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, a rare condition that can happen in pregnancies of identical twins.

Twins James and Morgan Pomeroy.

As a result of this incredibly rare condition, Morgan and James have numerous health challenges. Morgan lives with profound disabilities, he is quadriplegic with severe cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and profound learning difficulties. James has autistic spectrum disorder, anxiety, severe learning difficulties, as well as epilepsy.

They have lived in Chester all their lives with their devoted parents Sharon and Rob. As any other teenage boys, they both enjoy music, being with friends and family and exploring their growing independence.

Dad Rob, mum Sharon and twins James and Morgan Pomeroy.

As the twins are getting older, their care needs are changing and they need some help transitioning into young men.

Morgan needs an adapted home, with widened doors for his wheelchair, ceiling hoists to help him move around and a specially adapted bathroom.

The family home has long surpassed its owners' needs and has become a storage unit for many medical supplies and machinery, as well as a being a workplace for the nurses and carers that provide daily and overnight care for Morgan.

The Pomeroy family hope to raise money for a new home for Morgan and James and promote awareness of the additional needs of young people with similar conditions as they progress to adulthood.

A bigger home would also allow for Morgan to see his friends, who also use wheelchairs, who could visit and enjoy a film or music therapy together.

An appeal, 'A Home for Mo', was launched on GoFundMe, with the twins' father Rob Pomeroy initially setting a target of between £15,000, while expecting about between £2,000 and £3,000 to be raised.

But that target was smashed within just 12 hours, and now an incredible sum of nearly £70,000 has been raised towards the new target of £300,000.

Dad Rob, mum Sharon and twins James and Morgan Pomeroy.

The twins’ father, Rob Pomeroy said: "Being a father to my boys has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life, watching them grow, thrive and overcome so many challenges.

"As any other parent, we are 100 per cent committed to our children’s health, happiness, and quality of life.

"As the boys’ progress into adulthood, it’s becoming increasingly clear that they require a level of independence and space to grow.

"With a distinct lack of suitable facilities in the UK, the only way to keep the boys close to their school, family and friends is a home for them, that we can adapt to their needs, with room for the multiple medical staff that provide care each week.

"We want our sons to have room to flourish as they enter their 20s, enjoy, and pursue hobbies and interests in a safe environment unencumbered by plethora of medical supplies that we need to have on hand.

"We launched up a GoFundMe campaign on May 6 and have been overwhelmed by the response and generosity of people, whom we know and those we don’t know.

"After a long time, wrestling with how we might be able to achieve this goal for James and Morgan, for people to be willing to offer us a solution, is so incredibly humbling."

A website has been set up – https://ahomeformo.com/ – where Morgan's story is explained: "Mum and dad can’t adapt a house while I’m living there.

"They can’t afford to buy another house without selling the existing one. There aren’t many places suitable for me to move to while work is under way and my brother really doesn’t like to be away from me (seriously - he suffers from anxiety and is on the autistic spectrum). Staying together is always the best option.

"On top of that, moving house once is going to be hard enough (especially since James struggles with change), but moving twice - once into temporary accommodation and again into the finished house - is almost unthinkable. The best option by far is to make the new house ready while I’m still living in the old house with my family. Then we move just once."

To donate to the funding appeal, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-home-for-mo