Baz Ashmawy with the O’Hanlon family (Aoibhínn, Mam Sharon, Dad John, and two younger siblings)
This Sunday, 'DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland' comes from Mooncoin in County Kilkenny and will see host Baz Ashmawy visit the O'Hanlon family.
Prior to featuring on the show, the family were in desperate need of an adapted house for their little girl, Aoibhínn.
READ NEXT: 'Consequences' to be faced by misbehaving Kilkenny tenants in 'no go' estates
Aoibhínn was born with a severe type of spina bifida and hydrocephalus, which pose significant challenges for her and her family, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
She is completely paralysed from her belly button down and has had to have a shunt inserted to drain fluid from her brain.
After many years struggling to secure the money to build a home to meet Aoibhínn’s growing needs – with a lot of knockbacks and refusals – parents John and Sharon eventually managed to secure an extremely modest mortgage and embarked on their self-build.
READ NEXT: Kilkenny gardaí 'make no apologies' as local driver handed court date
Progress was painfully slow – despite family and friends giving every spare moment to the project. To save money the family moved in with Aoibhínn’s grandparents.
As the show was filming it was noted by producers that 'conditions there became cramped as the house became jam-packed with assistive devices and mobility equipment, such as wheelchairs, a stander, commodes, high chairs and a changing unit'.
READ NEXT: Hugely popular Kilkenny man celebrates milestone birthday!
The production team have stated that John and Sharon might eventually achieve their goal of a home for Aoibhínn but not without budget driven compromises and not without further significant delay.
To see it all unfold, and to see how DIY SOS – The Big Build Ireland can make a huge difference to this young person’s life - tune into RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 6.30pm this Sunday, October 12.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.