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Cancer teen can’t come home
By Elaine Sheridan
 A
disabled father from Hertfordshire is struggling to find a suitable home
for his soon-to-be wheelchair-bound Irish son.
Philip Cole lives in a second-floor flat in St. Albans, Hertfordshire
with his 14-year-old son Kyle — who moved to Britain from his home
in Newry, Co. Down last year.
In January the teenager was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer in his lower
right leg.
He will now undergo an operation to remove his knee and his tibia, which
will leave him confined to a wheelchair for at least a year.
However dad Philip, who was left paralysed down one side after a motorbike
accident in 2005, will not be able to get the wheelchair up and down the
stairs.
And he is pleading with St. Albans District Council to give them a ground-floor
flat before Kyle leaves Stanmore Hospital after the operation in mid-April.
The 37-year-old maintains that the council told him he does not warrant
being a priority on the housing waiting list, which works on a points
system.
He said: “The attitude of the council has been unbelievable.
“They don’t seem to fully understand the severity of the problem
we are faced with.
“There are 46 steps up to my second-floor flat so how can I be expected
to lift a wheelchair up in my condition?”
A spokesperson for St. Albans District Council said finding a new home
for the Cole family depends on a suitable property becoming vacant.
He said: “We’re currently unable to advise when they will
be able to move into a ground-floor flat as it is dependent on a suitable
property becoming vacant.
“Suitable alterations to their property cannot be made; as a result
they have been awarded 40 points.
“Given the medical problems of the applicant’s son his application
will be discussed at a Housing Review panel shortly.
“Unfortunately Mr Cole’s application does not attract any
local connection or time-waiting points and as such his application is
not highly positioned on the waiting list at the present time.
“However his position will be different following Kyle’s operation
in that the property is not going to be suitable for their needs.
“A home visit is being arranged to discuss the housing options for
Mr Cole.”
Father and son initially took on the second-floor flat when Kyle moved
from the North of Ireland where he had been living with his mother.
A pupil at Nicholas Breakspear School, the teenager is a keen footballer
and rugby player.
But doctors say it is unlikely the Irish youngster will be able to play
sports again as a metal rod that will replace his leg bone will cause
him to walk with a limp.
Kyle is currently undergoing chemotherapy at University College Hospital
in London in preparation for the operation.
If a suitable home is not found by the time the surgery is over he will
have to stay in hospital while he recovers.
Philip said: “I have lost all faith in the system over here.
“I have worked all my life until my accident and have paid taxes
since I left school as a teenager.
“All I want now is some help from the Government at a time when
I need it most.
“I think it’s shocking the way we are being treated.” |
