The Big Build - Eckington DIY SOS

Most of us take our freedom for granted,

but for Antonia, it's a distant dream.

I've been in hospitals for

pretty much the whole of the last three years.

We were only going in for one day, and we didn't ever come out.

Her condition is pulling a loving family apart.

It does fill you with a lot of guilt.

You can see how much pain she's in,

and you can see how frustrated she is and how limited she is.

That's really, really tough.

Kept prisoner by a debilitating illness,

Antonia's watching the best years of her life pass her by.

I want to be able to be a normal teenager,

and do normal teenager things,

and just be able to be independent and just go home.

But there's nowhere to go, so...

I can't go.

'And that's where we step in.

'This brave girl and her family need their lives back.

'We'll try to give it to them, whatever this build throws at us.'

-I think we have to send them home early.

-Right, OK, I'll do that.

It's just not safe, is it?

'And we're ready to give it our best shot.'

-You can't just take seven things that people like and nail them together...

-Yes, I can!

Oh, my gosh! Look at our kitchen!

Wow.

We have just nine days to carry out the build.

The usual suspects are here,

and our designer this week is Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

-Hello.

-You come from round this area.

We're bordering on my land.

Where are we going to find an army of helpers, Laurence?

Well, luckily I brought this lot with me.

This is DIY SOS!

THEY CHEER

Antonia and her brother Samuel were bought up by their mum, Victoria,

a teacher, in a small village in Worcestershire.

She was happy and healthy until, at four years old,

she was struck by a mysterious illness.

She just had what seemed to be seizures.

It was just an awful time, because we didn't know what was happening.

To watch and not know, when you actually, you, as a parent,

just want to make everything right, yeah, it does feel quite helpless.

As she got older, Antonia did appear to improve,

and it seemed that family life could get back to normal.

Antonia had dance clubs and Mum was doing something as well,

and we all had all of our own kind of little lives as well,

which we were all kind of orchestrating together.

She had an amazing group of friends,

used to camp out in the garden and laugh a lot, and it was the best,

I think she would say it was the best time of her life, really.

But then, four years ago, at the age of 14,

Antonia took a dramatic turn for the worse.

Suddenly, she started collapsing.

Just falling unconscious. And this sprang from nowhere,

she was collapsing and nobody knew what it was.

I'd go to A&E and stay in for a few days, and then come back out,

but every week I was in for an admission.

After a barrage of tests,

doctors diagnosed Antonia with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome,

a rare and painful condition

which weakens the body's connective tissues.

When things like this happen, you never think that it would be me,

or anyone to do with my family, but it is, so...

It's difficult.

The pain is awful for her,

and she's on medication that even can't stop the pain.

And you never really hear her talk about pain.

You know, she doesn't, she just carries on.

This incurable illness weakens nearly every system in her body.

She can no longer digest food,

and has to be fed through a tube directly into her heart.

She can't stand or even sit upright without collapsing.

My heart and my veins and my autonomic nervous system

isn't strong enough to pump the blood to my brain,

so effectively, when your brain hasn't got any blood in it,

it just shuts down.

Antonia stayed in several hospitals

before arriving at a specialist unit in London.

Victoria had to travel hundreds of miles to be with her,

and was forced to stop work as a result.

Nearly three years after her first admission,

Antonia is now back at her local hospital in Gloucester,

where her mum spends every day and night by her side.

I sleep on the floor next to Antonia's bed, so I have...

I've got a crash mat that I put out here,

and then pop up and just check everything's all right.

It's really made Mum very scared to leave her,

because these episodes can be quite serious and quite scary, yeah.

If she wasn't found when she's collapsing

and she's not got an airway in,

it's really hard to think about what could happen.

Even Samuel gave up a dream job to be near his sister.

Bedbound, she's been confined to a hospital room

for the most part of three years.

She's completely trapped,

whether it's trapped in the four walls of a hospital room or trapped

within the limitations of her body, and, you know, that is hard.

I look outside the window and I kind of think,

"Oh, God, that is very big out there."

And, like, just remembering crossing the road and stuff,

it seems kind of scary, really.

As horrific and potentially life-threatening as Antonia's condition is,

she could be cared for at home,

but only if her home is equipped with oxygen,

a sterile space for her intravenous medications,

and room for a full-length wheelchair, and, at the moment,

all that's impossible.

Her legs have to be up all the time,

so it's equivalent of trying to move a bed through the front door,

which we can't do.

And then there's no turning space, there's nowhere for her to sleep.

After years of struggling to make the best of these unimaginable

circumstances, the family are at the end of their tethers.

It's just torn the family apart, and we've been so separated.

I've always...

been quite positive and things, and got on with it,

but now I'm getting tired.

It's a desperate plight for a young girl who's lost her prime teenage

years to this cruel disorder.

We need to give her and her family some freedom back,

and get Antonia home.

-How do we help?

-This house used to be a really happy house,

and the children used to laugh loads and we used to all be really silly.

I haven't heard a laugh for quite a long time, really.

Psychologically, it's really important for Antonia to be home.

Has it been tough for her just recently?

The truth is, it's been absolutely horrendous as it's unfolded.

Antonia's had, I think, 22 operations.

I say, "I think," it sounds bad in itself, doesn't it?

-Since last January...

-Well, I should imagine after a while you do start to lose track.

You know, you bundle through life with two active children doing

normal stuff, and then all of a sudden it's not there any more.

No. I used to get scared and think, if I ever start crying, that'll be it,

I won't be able to pull myself back together

to do what I need to do the next moment.

And this isn't about me, this isn't about me.

This is about a young lady who is absolutely amazing

and deserves to be able to come home.

'You know, despite her brave face,

'it's clear that Victoria and the whole family desperately need help,

'and this lot are queueing up to lend a hand.'

Hello.

APPLAUSE

Thank you so, so much for giving up your time.

I'm a bit sort of shellshocked that you're all doing this for us.

To get her home, it will be lovely to see her really smile properly again.

In order to do that, we need to get you off and away from the place

-so that we can get started, if that's all right.

-Thank you so much.

-No problem.

-We'll see you.

-Thank you.

'With Mum safely out of sight, we can get going.

'And our first job is to get rid of anything in our way - from tiles

'to tree trunks.'

-The wrong house.

-The wrong one!

'We've got over 100 tradesmen here on the first day alone,

'of all shapes and sizes!'

It just demonstrates the fact that it's far too low.

If he can reach it! THEY LAUGH

'And of every follicular configuration.'

I like your beard. That's a beauty.

'That's a bit worrying, isn't it?

'Walls are crashing down inside,

'but they'll be going up outside, as round the back,

'we're building a ground-floor extension to house Antonia's brand-new

'bedroom and wet room.

'Earlier this week, this lovely bunch of lads laid the groundworks for us

'to give us a head start. But today,

'things have ground to a very premature halt.

'The voice of doom has started early this week.'

How much are you saying we're behind, then?

-Half a day.

-So we've been working 45 minutes and we're half a day behind?

-Yeah.

-How does that work?

-We hadn't got the beams to lay the block and

-beam floor.

-Where's the block and beam floor?

It's about three hours away up the M5.

On a broken down wagon.

-On a broken down wagon.

-You're joking me?

'The men with the timber frame for Antonia's extension are already

'here and raring to go.

'But to be honest, they can't do diddly squat until that block and

'beam floor is down.

'What we can do is rip out the garden, but Julian's at a bit of a loss when

'it comes to the green stuff.'

-I'm not a plant man, am I?

-Heavy plant.

-Yeah, heavy plant.

-As in machinery, but not...

-Green plants.

-No.

-Is there much growing in your garden?

-I ripped it all out last week.

-Did you?

-I bought myself a little digger.

-What, like a little hand digger?

No, a 1.6 tonne mini digger.

-And I've been in my front garden.

-NICK LAUGHS

I've took 70 tonnes of soil out of the garden.

-What are you doing, a swimming pool?

-No. Landscaping it.

-Are you?

-Yeah.

-And what are you going to plant in there?

-Nothing.

-Nothing...

-Chippings.

NICK LAUGHS

'What this build needs is someone who doesn't think chippings are the

'height of luxury design.

'Someone stylish, sophisticated and not at all irritating.

'Vintage 1931, if I'm not mistaken.

'And the car's getting on a bit, too!'

HE LAUGHS

I see you've started.

Well, we thought we might as well press on and get as much done before

-you started taking an influence.

-Exactly.

-By the way, happy birthday.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-It was THE birthday, wasn't it?

It was. It was a great celebration.

Gloucestershire's finest all coming together to mark how lucky we are to

-have survived 50.

-So are you actually announcing that?

Absolutely. Cut me in half and count my rings.

I am done dendro-chronologically 50.

'Who knew? Well, I did, because I was there.

'Well, let's put that half century of knowledge to good use.'

I mean, the idea is to try and give Antonia and the rest of the family an ability

to have as much space together as possible.

-Yes.

-Because of her condition,

it means that she takes up an enormous amount of room when she moves.

So it's really important that we don't have a warren of small areas,

because she's going to be sort of stuck in one and everybody else is going to be stuck in the other.

'Taking out most of the internal walls,

'Laurence's design will create a spacious open plan kitchen and

'dining area.

'The existing living room will become an accessible space where the

'family can spend quality time.

'Upstairs, mum Victoria will have a plush new bedroom,

'along with dressing room, instead of that hospital floor.

'Her old one will become a guest room for Samuel when he comes to stay with

'his family.

'And most important of all,

'the new extension will house Antonia's wet room and bedroom,

'complete with oxygen supply,

'space to manoeuvre and a sterile area to prepare her meds at home.

'DIY SOS builder's rock, not available anywhere.

'Chris will be a happy man as the plasterboard has turned up ahead of

'schedule, although there seems to be a slight imperfection in the back.'

THEY CHEER

'Definitely not ahead of schedule is the block and beam floor.

'It's finally arrived several hours late after a leisurely day basking

'like a shark on the hard shoulder of the M5.'

How long have we got?

-Before this is in.

-An hour, it should be in.

Get this in in an hour.

-Top man, top man.

-'That's where he buys his shirts!

'Once the floor's in, we need to get that timber frame for Antonia's room

'up and fast.

'A hard enough job even if it wasn't the hottest day of the year.'

But then, this is good plastering weather.

No, it's not. Too hot.

It's good for the plaster, but not for the plasterers.

-Ah!

-See what I mean?

-Yes.

Head over.

-Hottest day of the year, it is.

-Thanks very much.

-Get a bit of that on you.

-Cheers.

'The sparks have been flying today.

'They're about the only team on schedule.'

Done the ring main upstairs, they're doing the lighting upstairs,

the kitchen will all be sorted as well, so we are...

we are up with it, as they say.

'Doesn't make any sense, really, does he? But you've got to love him.'

-Laurence had a birthday recently. How old do you think he is?

-I reckon

he's...58, 59.

-And what was he?

-50.

Oh, sugar!

Laurence! Laurence!

Don't put me in it.

'Yeah, I don't think Billy will be getting a party bag, do you?'

-Jules! Come here.

-'But Chris and Jules might.'

I didn't know whether you knew, but it's Laurence's birthday.

-Laurence who?

-Our designer.

-Right.

-Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

-Yeah.

And I thought we'd buy a little cake, but we'd Laurence it.

-All right.

-We'd spruce it up a bit.

-Decorate it and give it a bit of a Laurence flair.

Yeah, so, um... Right.

Would you say he looked 50?

-Oh, I guessed at 60, to be honest.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Look.

-Liking it. It needs a moustache.

-Right.

-He had a bit on his chin, didn't he?

HE LAUGHS

Aw, mate!

You can overdress a cake.

You can. I think definitely less is more.

'Bake Off, here they come!

'I'll tell you who deserves an extra large slice of cake - these boys,

'because they've put the block floor down in under an hour.

'But while ripping out the back garden, we've hit an unexpected problem.'

We have a ground bees' nest here that was under the shed.

We're going to have to get someone in to move the bees, take them away,

and find them a new home.

I'll go and call a bee person.

'Usually, I'd call the A person, but the budget's a bit tight!'

NICK CHUCKLES

'That frame for Antonia's room has finally started going up, but with

'so much to fit inside,

'we'll still be in trouble if we can't get finished today.

'Inside, the ceiling is now being held up only by metal props and a robust

'aroma of hot builder, in preparation for the steels arriving tomorrow.'

We've got to take the ends of all those rafters off, to get the steelwork in.

-Not a five-minute job, then.

-Not five minutes.

-No.

'Even in the stifling heat, these 100-odd builders are giving it their all.

'All except for Mary Berry and Paul out here.'

-Happy birthday, Mr Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

-I am...

-You're loving it, aren't you?

-I am absolutely delighted with that.

-Blow your candle out, then.

-Come on.

-Come on. Make a wish.

Are you still here?

THEY LAUGH

I'm going to put it somewhere really safe where I can really enjoy it.

Ah! No, clap yourselves, by all means.

HE LAUGHS

-I think he was very, very pleased by that.

-I think he was almost touched.

-Yeah.

-Almost.

-Almost shed a tear.

He did.

-Wow!

-He loved that.

-'You notice Chris still can't say his name properly.

'Here comes the biohazard team to clean the Portaloos.

'Just kidding! They're bee handlers.

'You know, this lot have worked, well, like worker bees today.

'And now that the queen bee's got his cake... NICK LAUGHS

'..and our stripy little friends

'are out on their ears, all that's left to do is finish the timber frame.'

Pretty much done. This is about another two hours' work, which

has to be done because we won't get on tomorrow if we don't.

We're going to come through the door that's going to disappear.

We're going to block this in. Part of the chimney that has disappeared,

to the new front door that has appeared. Well,

the space at least. And there's going to be a porch out there, too.

We're going to block up the old French door. Come through here.

As you can see, all the ceiling is taken out.

This is a forest of acrow props, and the reason it's a forest of acrow props is

because it's holding up the whole of upstairs,

because there are new steels that need to go in this side, too.

Considering the raging temperatures today, and the difficulties we've had,

I think that's a pretty good start.

'So we've clawed back the start of the build from an unprecedented five-hour delay.

'And tomorrow is a new day.

'I know it's stating the obvious, but it is.

'The hottest day of the year. Again!'

Morning - it's proper shorts weather today.

They say it's going to be upwards of 40 degrees,

so we've got to look after our builders and make sure they keep hydrated.

Nice thing about having a big pair of shorts on, there's plenty of ball room.

Which means you can bring one in to throw around with the builders at lunchtime.

'A hot day can play merry hell with materials and the workforce alike.'

-This is brilliant weather, isn't it?

-Oh, it's... Well, it's good,

but obviously we might have a little problem with the glues because

obviously, certain temperatures, too high, too low,

we need something in between a little bit, really.

Hang on. Every time we're doing well in the winter, they go, "It's a bit difficult in the winter,

-"it's too cold!"

-Yeah.

-Now you're saying it's to hot.

-Well, you know, it's glue, isn't it?

We'll be all right. We'll be all right. I'm big enough to cover the sun out, block the sun out.

THEY LAUGH

'Fortunately, the heat hasn't put these fellas off.

'They're back for more and in even greater numbers.

'Julian's got his hands on one of his favourite toys.

'Look at the concentration.

'I bet he wouldn't drive his own digger down there.

'He might scratch the paintwork, you see.

'Let's hope he can get into the back garden, it needs some serious reshaping.'

I suppose this garden's all about access. Because they haven't been out here for...

Well, for ages. They haven't had a chance. But of course it's potentially

a sensory space and a great space to be,

-isn't it?

-Yeah, no, the garden should be a very,

very important part of bringing Antonia back, as far as I'm concerned.

The one thing that is complicated is that rose.

That rose tree, we think, was planted

by Victoria's mother just before she died.

So, certainly, it has great sentimental value,

which is why we're protecting it.

'Very important detail, that.

'The plan is to build a garden on two levels -

'decking outside Antonio's room, built around that precious rose,

'followed by a patio with the large turning circles you need.

'All connected by a sandstone ramp to allow her to move around.

'To bring Laurence's design to life,

'we've got a team of gardeners with a bloke called Ian at the helm.'

Officially, hottest day of the year...

-Sounds good.

-..to build a garden.

-Mm-hm.

-How you doing?

-Struggling.

-THEY LAUGH

You've got material problems.

We have, yeah, we are seriously short of kit at the moment and we could do

with getting a few more things here.

'The building game's really picked up recently and we are finding that

'merchants simply haven't got the stock to donate.'

We're suffering, but actually, it's a good thing.

It's an illustration of the fact that the economy and the building

industry are coming out of recession with a bang,

which is excellent for us all.

Doesn't help much on this one though, does it?

We are young and flexible.

We are acting kind of tough.

We can cope, sir.

# We are young, we are free, keep our teeth nice and clean. #

MUSIC: Alright by Supergrass

'All we can do is keep ringing around

'and hope that someone comes up with the goods.

'You see, the builders really want to get this build right for Antonia

'and her family. Her brother, Samuel,

'has already had to shoulder enough responsibility to last a lifetime.'

What's the toughest thing for you that you've seen with Antonia?

The toughest thing is to have seen her completely lose the ability to

just do whatever she likes.

Just be able to stand up and walk out of the room, you know?

When someone's so independent and then that happens to them,

that's a massive change. It's really, really apparent.

So, that's really, really tough to see.

At the moment, she doesn't think that she'd be able to come out of

hospital. You know,

she doesn't think that it's a possibility, because she used to talk about

coming home and doing all these things for so long, and in the last

six months, I haven't heard her say anything like that.

It must be heartbreaking for you because you obviously love her so

-much, when you see her in pain. Cos she suffers a lot, doesn't she?

-Yeah.

The thing is, she's in pain all the time.

You never hear her complain unless it's absolutely, you know, awful.

She puts on a front quite a lot of the time for other people,

which is...

selfless, really, because...

..it's meant that quite often,

people don't necessarily see how bad it really is.

I think...

my sister is

amazing and she's,

you know, she's the most inspirational person.

But for me, it's my mum who's my hero.

Because I've seen how much my mum has had to fight to move forward

with the situation and to sort situations out completely by herself.

Fearlessly, really.

I know there are days when she completely loses hope and thinks,

"How can I carry on like this?"

But she just keeps going, and I think that's absolutely amazing.

I hope that when you walk in there,

what you see is somewhere that's not only good for Antonia,

not only takes the pressure off your mum a little bit,

but also takes the pressure off you, because you've done an extraordinary job in looking after your family.

'This build could make life so much more bearable, both for Antonia

'and her family, too.

'Fortunately in the afternoon, some materials have started trickling in.

'That will keep Julian happy.

'The steels for the ceiling have arrived.

'And the bricks for Antonia's extension are being dropped off around the back.'

That's a clever little crane, isn't it?

It's on a railway track on the back of the...

I've not seen that before. It's very cool.

It's 3,200 bricks we've got to get into the back of the building.

'Good job it's not an insanely hot day, or this would be really hard work.

'I've got lose some weight. People are starting to flag and it's even

'hotter on the roof.'

Fancy an ice cream?

I'll go and organise it.

'Inside, the steels are going in despite the blistering temperatures.

'There you go. Up, up, up!'

All right.

On three, we're going to lift and pull it this way 50 mil.

Ready? One, two, three.

Lift, this way. Stop.

'What's got 19 heads, 38 feet and smells like one giant armpit?

'Put it this way, it's not a caterpillar.

'Round Antonia's room, the skin's going up, and in this weather,

'there's a lot of skin on show.'

So, just touching 100 degrees there.

I told you it was going to be hot today, and it's got ridiculously hot.

Are you managing all right over there with the heat and everything?

Yeah, just about. I said we'll be here until about half past four and

that will just about do us, then.

'Yeah, it's no fault of our poor brickies, who've worn themselves out

'trying to keep on schedule, but it's another blow for Antonia's extension.

'The rest of the team aren't doing much better either.

'We've already got through a week's worth of water in a couple of days.'

Because it's this hot, we've actually got a slight problem.

-Everyone's worn out.

-Yeah.

-There's guys up on that roof up there who are working...

You said it was 100 down here.

-It's more up there.

-We've got 30 guys inside and the body heat of that lot

added to the temperature in there...

'Looks like the heat's got to Billy, too. Where's he gone?'

Oi, lads, anybody seen Billy?

Don't know where he is. Haven't seen him for a while.

Billy! Has anyone seen Billy?

ICE CREAM VAN PLAYS TUNE

'Ah, just the job.

'Oh, no. Really?'

You might have wondered where I've been.

I've been and hijacked an ice cream van.

We're going to do knickerbocker glories.

This one is the one that my mother used to make.

-IN ITALIAN ACCENT:

-Ah, Billio.

-What do you want?

Could I possibly have a 99-io?

No, it's a knickerbocker glory or nothing.

'Yeah, somebody gave them a script, didn't they?

'Despite the best efforts of Billy Berlusconi,

'our workforce is utterly exhausted.

'We're going to have to take an unprecedented step because of this heat.'

I think we have to send them home early.

-Right, OK. I'll do that.

-It's just not safe, is it?

No, it's not safe.

'Shutting the site early will cost us three hours of build time,

'three hours we can't afford.

'We certainly can't afford another day like this.

'We're in luck! The typical British summer has returned!'

The weather's changed a bit today.

We've got a bit of rain after all the heat yesterday,

which is actually quite refreshing, but we don't want too much.

Morning, morning. Morning.

'It's day three and the plasterers have arrived en masse.'

Firstly, thank you for giving us your time.

'And Chris is giving them his usual upbeat motivation speech.'

We're about half a day behind.

But not putting any pressure on you.

'Yeah, that's one to rally the troops, Chris. Well done(!)

'And their first challenge is to get through the newly bricked-up

'front door.'

It might pay to go through that window.

'With the more reasonable temperature,

'there's a symphony of construction going on.

'Music to my ears.'

# Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken!

# Take a little chance with me... #

'Yeah, that was fun, wasn't it? We may have shut early yesterday,

'but the way these lads are going at it, we might get this build back on track.

'Just look at the plasterers go.'

-Who's putting this on?

-Ivan.

-Ivan.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-You don't meet many Ivans around.

-No, there's only a few of us.

Named after Ivan the Terrible?

My nan's next-door neighbour.

-Is there a story there?

-No.

NICK LAUGHS

'I think there's a story there. Inside, we're motoring,

'but outside we still don't have all of the garden materials, and a brief

'shower's stopped play for Jules.

'Still, who are we to complain?

'Antonia hasn't been able to experience a day outdoors in a very long time.

'Luckily, she has an incredibly supportive family

'and a best mate like Georgia.'

So how long have you known Antonia?

-Four years.

-Right.

-Yeah.

And so what kind of person was she before all her difficulties came along?

Very energetic and mad.

So it must have come as doubly a shock for somebody who was so energetic

-to suddenly be so struck down.

-Yeah. When she was in London, I used to go up on the weekend

and visit her and stay in the hospital room with her.

And I would just get really agitated after a few hours,

just being trapped in that room. But I can get up and leave.

She can't. So just thinking how she would feel being stuck there.

-It's horrible.

-But she passes out often, doesn't she?

Yeah, yeah. I used to...

Whenever she passed out, I always used to read to her.

Because sometimes, she can still hear.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

-That's a hell of a friendship you've got there, then.

Yeah. Well, I love her, so...

But that's a long time to, you know, to be going and seeing somebody

and travelling up to London to see her and all those things.

She's my best friend. It's what you do, don't you, if you love someone?

It's very cool, though.

She's obviously a very lovely person.

She is, she is.

'We can't help with Antonia's diagnosis, but we can get her back home.

'And with the sun out again, the team are redoubling their efforts.

'And finally our calls have paid off and materials are arriving thick and fast.

'The patio's here.

'And the screed for a brand-new floor in Antonia's room.'

-50 mil, sort of liquid screed.

-Yeah.

Which goes off in about 24, 36 hours

and you can get that done and working, hopefully.

We put one down before and it didn't go off.

-But this will go off?

-Yeah, promise.

'Antonia's extension has created nothing but headaches so far,

'but the roof's nearly finished, and a good job, too,

'as it's been holding up the gardeners.'

I will be so glad to see the back of that scaffolding.

-Trust me, yeah.

-This would be a three-week job,

two and a half, three-week job for you guys normally?

I would say so, yeah. Three weeks would probably do it.

'Well, we're four days in, so you've got five days, Ian. NICK LAUGHS

'You're welcome!

'Despite everyone getting under each other's feet, there's no lack of goodwill on site.

'People have roped in their mates, their bosses, their daughters,

'and even those who can't help are here in spirit.'

I lost my brother last year

and he would have loved this.

I just want him to feel part of it, really.

A bit soft, I know, but the sort of thing he would have been involved in,

I should imagine, so just wanted to feel that he was here with me today.

'Doesn't sound daft at all to me. There's a lot of love on site.

'This lot are determined to make this house a home again for Antonia

'and her family. For her mum, Victoria, her illness has been heartbreaking.'

The hardest part was...

not knowing how to help.

Not knowing if Antonia is in pain.

There's nothing I can do particularly.

I can only be there.

And it's harrowing to watch your child in really, really, really bad pain

and not be able to make it better.

And for us to be in hospital away from home for that long, away from

family, away from friends, and it to be every day.

Why aren't you worn out?

-Or are you?

-I am, actually.

I just think you just have to keep going.

-There isn't...

-It's easier said than done.

-I know, but there's not a choice.

I've learned an awful lot from Antonia and Samuel.

They're a lot stronger than I am.

-You're very proud of Samuel, aren't you?

-Very, very proud of Samuel.

He has supported his sister and he loves his sister.

With Antonia's illness, it was all very sudden for everybody.

It was sudden for him.

Suddenly, we didn't come home. That was it.

We were gone for a blood test and we didn't come home. And I think...

Yes, I suppose Samuel had to grow up pretty quick.

Have you pictured having her home now that you know that it's happening?

Oh, it's going to be amazing.

Antonia thought I had a magic wand and I could just make everything right.

And I haven't been able to make this right, I haven't been able to get her home.

When she said,

"I want to go home," I've had to say, "I can't take you."

And that is horrible.

We've hopped from crisis to crisis to crisis, and for something good

to happen that so many people are trying their hardest to get Antonia home,

it is unbelievable.

It is a dream come true, really.

It's absolutely what I've wanted for her.

I don't know how much more of hospital Antonia can take, really.

It's so tough.

She's had her 16th, 17th and 18th birthday in hospital.

-19th at home?

-19th at home.

She's going to go home.

Oh, my God! I've just realised. It's a really stupid thing to say!

'Wow! No pressure.

'We only get to get her home if we finish the build.

'What we don't need is any more delays to Antonia's room.'

Nice!

Proper job, that, boy. Proper job!

-That's more like he, isn't it!

-Yeah!

'That is a proper relief,

'as we've only got three days left and the decorators need to get in.'

'After the screed, the next thing to go down is underfloor heating,

'as soon as Billy's figured out whose job it is.'

Who's going to lay the underfloor heating system?

Obviously, it's got electrics to it, so is it an electrician's job?

'Yes! Yes, it is, actually.'

In my mind, heating is water. So it could be the plumber's.

'But that's wrong!'

So we're trying to work out who's... it's a demarcation.

It's a union thing here.

'It's you! It's you!

'This will shock you, Bill, but since the plumbers are busy plumbing,

'the painters are painting, the chippies are chippying,

'I think you're stuck with the ELECTRIC heat mat.

'The entire ground floor is designed with Antonia in mind,

'but above all, her bedroom.'

This is the most important room in the house,

actually, because we're going to have

all the medical equipment in here.

It's called an aseptic room,

which is somewhere that she can feed,

and it's very clean and dust-free and germ-free.

So this is a really important space.

'These guys have come from Yorkshire

'to fit a ceiling hoist to help Antonia

'if she collapses.

'With only two days to go, it's all about speed now.

'But a flooring which resembles a 1,000-piece jigsaw is not helping.'

And unfortunately, some idiot has decided

that they're going to put it down herringbone style.

Laurence!

Planking goes down a lot quicker.

There's a lot more wastage with this.

So how much more time?

Did you say it was twice as much?

-Three times longer.

-Three times longer

to do this particular style of flooring.

So this really wasn't an ideal situation

in which to put down herringbone floor?

-No.

-No.

So we should take the designer outside

and have him publicly flogged.

'Or we could set Billy on him.

'That's worse than a flogging.'

She can't turn corners.

She's always got to go in a really big circle.

So she's got a nice space to turn in.

So she's got enough space here to really, you know.

And who thought of that, then?

Yeah! But who invented the Round Table?

Ah! Well, it was King Arthur.

No. Sir Cumference!

Sir Cumference!

Come on, sausage, let's go.

'I've changed my mind, Billy should be publicly flogged for that joke.

'Better yet, tarred and feathered, and we've got just the stuff!'

It goes down one single layer,

and it's got wax in it then, and it sets solid.

But it goes off quicker?

Goes off quicker, so you've got to be careful.

How long have you been in the McAdam tarmac industry?

-25 years.

-It's a lovely industry.

It is. I love the smell of asphalt when it's been laid.

I know! I know! I came up a road the other day in Wales, actually,

and it was like black velvet all the way through the mountain.

It was gorgeous. Are you married?

I am, unfortunately!

How long would it take to get a divorce pushed through?

'Seriously! Smoother than a freshly-laid drive, that man!

'Honestly!

'Going less smoothly is that herringbone floor.

'It hasn't even been started in Antonia's room,

'pushing our most important room behind schedule, yet again.'

Is there ANY chance we can change the flooring in Antonia's room...

-Yes.

-..to something else?

It's taking so long to lay.

-Perfectly all right.

-You seem very malleable.

Almost like an Olympic gymnast, you seem very flexible today.

I mean, there's no point in us all, you know,

crippling ourselves just for one rather foolish

and rather frivolous design decision.

But, fine! There you go!

'Who was that?

'Seriously, who was that man? And what has he done with Laurence?'

Tick-tick-tick-tick...

'Anyway, we've got him to change his mind about the floor,

'but maybe I should have held on to my veto card a little bit longer.'

-What the...?

-I did say, I said in Antonia's room, it's going LA crib.

I've designed this wallpaper especially for her -

-hence the As and the...

-Rampant zebras.

Which are something which she's very much interested in.

But you can't just take seven things

-that people like and nail them together and...

-Yes, I can.

-It's barking, Laurence.

-It is entirely barking,

but it's entirely commensurate with the way

that I think teenage girls are barking.

As the owner of two myself,

and my two were literally licking that when they saw it.

'OWN two daughters, Laurence? Really?

'Still, Antonia's room is now getting papered and floored,

'and this lot are determined to get it right for her.

'Now, you may be thinking we haven't met Antonia very much,

'that's because visiting her in hospital is difficult,

'but I've heard she's well enough to see me,

'so there's a chance to get to know her.

'You know, her illness is so rare

'that in medical circles, conditions like these

'are sometimes called zebras,

'which explains why Antonia's room is covered in them.'

They're so cute, aren't they?

They are. They're just very cool.

If you press that button that's flashing...

It is an attention seeker, that is. Seriously.

It's like a child, you have to ignore it.

So you've been almost sort of institutionalised to this.

I mean, surrounded by all of these machines.

-Yeah.

-It is a lot to have to deal with at your age.

I try and stay positive,

but it is difficult, and sometimes I do, like, get really upset over it.

But how do you keep that positivity up all this time?

Has there been times when it's slipped, or have you managed?

Yeah, like, I've had times when I've been in so much pain.

When I was in London, I was on such a high dose of morphine.

When you have, like, chronic pain, and it is that all the time,

people say you get used to it and you, like, learn to deal with it.

I don't think you do,

you kind of just learn to stop, like, saying anything about it.

How amazing is your brother?

Oh, I love my brother.

He came and got a job in London so that he could be nearer to me.

He'd come in after work and he'd be so exhausted.

He'd be sat there, like, falling asleep.

I think he'd just do anything for me, really.

-And your mum?

-My mum's a superhero.

It is amazingly tight-knit, the three of you.

Mm. Yeah.

We always have been a close family, but I think this whole experience,

we've gained a lot of perspective for a start,

about, you know, that you should cherish your family

and every day is, like, special, really,

because you never know what's going to happen.

I don't know what I'd do without them.

So what are your hopes?

Just to go back to normal life, really.

I don't really mind,

but I just want independence and freedom, really.

How excited are you about coming home?

Super excited. Super, super excited.

Are you going to be well enough to come back?

Touch wood.

So how does it feel

knowing that we're just days away from the possibility

of you actually getting home?

I don't even really think I completely believe it yet,

to be honest.

They are basically giving me, like, a new chance at life.

For me to get home will be like a dream.

Will you promise me something, that no matter how excited you are,

that you will not come home if you're not well,

and that you will not make yourself do anything

because you think you ought to?

-Pinky swear.

-Pinky swear?

-Yeah.

-All right.

'Of course, Antonia's health must come first,

'but we want to finish this house no matter what,

'so that it's ready for her whenever she's able to come home.

'As we head into the final day, the house is buzzing.'

Brilliant stuff, we've got the garden finished,

we've got the lawn down, the tarmac in.

'He's on a roll, isn't he?

'Mark, tell us a bit more about what's going on.'

And then in here, we've got

Oliver fitting the last of the machines in here.

They've finished all the grouting off.

-'Any more?'

-Then in here we've got all new floor laid,

the skirtings are nearly finished.

'Mark, be a fridge.'

Fridge, shelf, door, beautiful.

'It's all about the little details, and I don't mean Mark.

'In the garden, it's all hands on decking. Ha-ha-ha!

'And the turf is on a roll. Honestly, you can't buy this stuff.'

It's starting to look the part, isn't it?

-It is, yes.

-You going to be done in time?

Because we are running... hours now.

The answer to the question has to be yes.

But, yeah, we'll be there.

'One of the most important bits of kit has turned up,

'Antonia's life-saving oxygen supply,

'with taps in every ground-floor room.'

24 hours a day, that's accessible for her.

-Wow!

-Yeah.

She'll have small portables, as well,

that she can carry with her when she goes out.

But this is to give her a supply when she is in the home.

Without the oxygen, she couldn't come home.

'Drawing on the wallpaper? I used to get in trouble for that.'

Well that's, that's very lovely.

Thank you very much indeed. All you need is a permanent marker,

some acrylic paints,

and about five or six years in an Italian art school.

This is going to be very sort of elegant Mum's room?

Well, this is an escape.

My heart goes out to the parents and I think that when you are dealing

with everything on a daily basis, it is so important

to have a sanctuary, have a space that you can call your own.

'He's very good, isn't he? Above all the schmutter, he's very good.'

Get everything piled up.

If we can get the cleaners in there, that's the room almost ready.

'Right up until the last minute,

'we're still inundated by incredibly thoughtful touches.

'Hang on. That table looks familiar.

'Oh, my goodness! Look at that.'

This is their old table.

The top is, yeah. Then on that side...

You've taken a section out here?

That's gone so that we can get wheelchair access.

Look at these!

Well, this represents the family, you've got the mother, the two kids,

obviously, this is where, for the first time,

they can sit together and enjoy a family meal.

-What a beautiful thing.

-It's lovely, isn't it?

That's a lot of thought gone into a table, mate, that's fantastic.

Cheers.

'Isn't it wonderful what people can do?

'They've put body and soul into making this house a home.

'And they're making sure every last detail counts.'

The sun's going down, so it's about half past nine at this stage.

People still making things.

People inside still trying to put things together.

It's basically going to be a very long night,

so we'll see you in the morning.

'Nine days ago, we met a family

'shattered by a cruel medical condition.'

When things like this happen you never think that it would be me,

or anyone to do with my family, but it is.

'With a house she'd been unable to come home to for three long years,

'Antonia's outlook was bleak.'

I don't know how much more Antonia can take of being in hospital.

I got to a point where I didn't ever see myself coming out of hospital,

and I thought it was just going to be forever.

'But these local heroes responded to our SOS in a huge way,

'battling through the hottest July day on record.'

People are just streaming with sweat.

I think we have to send them home early.

-Right, OK, I'll do that.

-It's just not safe, is it?

'And the result?

'Well, it will bring Antonia home and give her a new chance at life.

'We've replaced the old front porch with a brand-new one

'to make the impossible possible.

'Antonia can now enter her own home once more.

'Inside, the living room has been opened out to create a homely

'and accessible space where the family can all be together again.

'The warren of narrow doors and small rooms

'has been removed to create this new and spacious kitchen-diner.

'And a supply of oxygen and hoists around the entire ground floor

'will give Antonia the freedom to move she's been longing for.

'Meanwhile, a whole new extension at the back of the house

'means Antonia now has a proper room all of her own.

'It's done up in the polar opposite of hospital decor,

'and it's complete with an aseptic area for preparing her medicines.

'And a wet room.

'For Mum, the days of sleeping on the floor are over.

'Her room is now a haven of relaxation

'with its own dressing room.

'The decluttered bathroom radiates simple elegance.

'And when Samuel comes to stay or for when Antonia's mates sleep over,

'there is a stylish and sophisticated new guest room.

'And that's not all. The garden is now a green, serene paradise

'filled with butterfly-friendly planting,

'wheelchair-friendly decking,

'and the family's beloved rose as a centrepiece.

'It'll be all the more life-changing for Antonia,

'who hasn't even set foot outside hospital for months.

'But that's all about to change.

'Today, the medics have given her the all clear to come home.'

I love the fresh air.

I'm actually quite well today.

I was really worried that I was going to catch a cold or something,

but I didn't, so I'm good.

I mean, today is the culmination of a long, long, long time, isn't it?

To actually finally get your sister actually home.

Yeah. She came out of the hospital today and said,

"Oh, it's amazing, just some fresh air,"

you know, and you forget that she hasn't had that for so long.

So that is so special.

This morning, I woke up and I thought it was Christmas Day,

and I leapt up and danced around the room, which is quite sad, I suppose.

We're going home.

It's so exciting, isn't it?

Are you excited?

Very excited. And Antonia is ecstatic, as well.

She's very, very nervous, but excited.

It won't be too much for her today?

No, she's ready for it.

Definitely.

Oh, my God, this is so crazy.

I can see the roof.

-Samuel!

-Hello.

Hello.

Oh, Samuel. I love you so much.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah.

Super ready.

Oh, my God! Look at the drive!

-Oh, it's amazing.

-Yeah, well, access,

we kind of thought it was important for you

to be able to get an ambulance if you need to, in and out,

-and enough turning space.

-It's amazing.

-It's amazing.

-Oh, look, there's a little bench.

-Oh, it's amazing.

Your front door used to be there, and it's not any more, it's there.

This is to make maximum use of the inside,

but also to give you easy access.

Are you calm enough?

-Are you all right?

-Yeah.

-Promise not to peek?

-Pinky swear.

-Pinky swear?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Shall we get started, then?

-Yeah.

This will be something that you can do yourself,

but not with your eyes closed.

SHE LAUGHS

Does not smell like hospitals.

We've created a home that means

you can all be back together as a family after so long.

Open your eyes.

-Oh, my God.

-Oh, my God.

-It's beautiful.

-It's amazing.

-It's amazing.

That sofa looks super comfy.

Look at someone's artwork.

There's all my pictures of me and Plum.

Can't believe it, I can't believe it.

It's absolutely beautiful.

It's crazy, isn't it?

Doesn't even look anything like it.

And look at the hoist.

Oh, wow.

If you wanted to have some time on the sofa,

you can use the hoist to get up and down, move about.

Also, as we know, there is always a danger of you passing out,

falling to the floor. Whoever's with you has got the hoist then

to able to lift you and get you back in.

And then you can just put me on the sofa.

-Yeah.

-I don't have to lie on the floor for hours.

-Normal stuff.

-It's so cool.

What's the beeping? How's the beeping?

Are you all right?

-Your heart rate up?

-I'm fine, I'm all good.

Right, so this is just the first bit.

I could just live in here.

Oh, no, you wait till you see the rest of it.

Ready? Do you want to take the lead?

Oh, my gosh! Look at our kitchen.

Wow.

Look, it says VSA.

That is so, so beautiful.

It's amazing.

-Oxygen.

-This is your piped oxygen,

which goes up and around and to every room in the house.

So wherever you are, you don't have to take a bottle.

You can unplug and plug in.

You're not allowed to box it in,

but you are allowed to have a little table top over the top.

So we've done that to try and make the least impression on the area.

Cos we don't want this to look...

Like a hospital, yeah.

And it isn't, is it?

It's my home. High-five.

That's very cool.

Do you recognise the table?

It's our table, isn't it? Oh, it's absolutely amazing.

Oh, it says free to fly.

-It does.

-Look at the butterfly on the corner.

It's so gorgeous, I love it.

Wow. It is absolutely beautiful.

-I love it.

-It's so cool.

-I'm a bit like...

-I know, it's quite overwhelming.

I didn't expect it to be so perfect.

If you think about it, that's all of your house, isn't it?

-Think of the shape of your house.

-Yes, it is.

-Taken a few walls out.

-You've taken a lot of walls out.

Samuel's still trying to work it out, isn't he?

I just can't believe it.

It's amazing.

Oh, my...

Oh, my God!

Look at the prints!

-Wow.

-I can put all of my make-up on.

The zebras are so cute.

It won't surprise you to know that this is the only wallpaper

-like it in the world.

-It is beautiful.

It's been designed for you by Laurence, with the A, obviously,

and the zebras and the butterflies.

I love it.

It's so cool.

Essentially, hoist goes from here all the way through...

and out and along.

Oh, my goodness, look at that.

And disappears around the corner here to see the next part.

Do you want to come and have a look?

This is absolutely...

Oh, my gosh.

-..brilliant.

-That looks so amazing.

That looks like a really comfy bed.

It's not just comfy, it does all kinds of amazing things.

So, obviously, it is a medical bed as well.

-I love it.

-It is absolutely brilliant.

Obviously, important part of this for your meds.

To have your own fridge here for your meds.

And this area here is the...

-What do you call it?

-Sterile area for my lines,

and my TPN and my medicines. And it's not white!

I absolutely love it.

It's absolutely perfect.

The wallpaper's not too bonkers and over the top?

It's bonkers and over the top, and I love it!

THEY LAUGH

Is this what you wanted and hoped for and needed?

This is everything.

It is absolutely perfect, isn't it?

Everything she needs is here, and it's beautiful.

We can just have a completely fresh start,

and Antonia can be in here

and you can just do whatever you like and we can do whatever we like.

It just feels like a home. I love it.

Is it what you'd hoped for, Antonia?

Yeah.

It is.

Georgie is going to love it.

She'll probably move in.

She probably will.

Interestingly, she's so excited, she's outside.

Do you want to show Georgie your room if I get her in?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Georgie!

Isn't it amazing? It's amazing.

So beautiful, man.

Oh, you're making me cry!

It is so cool.

I'm so excited.

Antonia's oxygen levels have dropped,

and we had to change over an oxygen bottle,

so we're taking a light pause

midway through showing the family the house,

so that she can get her energy levels back,

and when we're comfortable that she's safe

and the nurse will stay with her,

then I can take Mum, Victoria and Samuel upstairs.

If you have any collapses, you're completely safe

in your bedroom at home...

..or the lounge or the kitchen.

THEY LAUGH

Wow.

-So nice.

-Isn't it lovely?

It's really nice. I love it.

This is absolutely beautiful.

Why this is brilliant is, you can know Antonia's safe

and you can come home any time, whenever you want to.

You've taken a lot of responsibility, haven't you?

Yeah.

I'm really, really proud of you.

I love you.

-BOTH:

-Wow.

It's absolutely beautiful.

It's so nice, isn't it?

This is so beautiful.

So beautiful.

-Yeah.

-Better than a hospital floor?

Just slightly.

It's just nice to able to stop

and have somewhere lovely, which is quiet.

And to know she's happy.

It takes the stress off you, it takes the responsibility off of you.

You can actually just go back to being mum and brother and son.

-Do you know what I mean?

-Yeah.

It's perfect.

Oh, my goodness gracious me.

Oh, my God.

It's absolutely amazing.

-Oh, my...

-A bigger decking area

where you can actually have friends round,

-you can sit outside.

-Sit outside.

You can get pals, you can do whatever you want with it.

You said you didn't much with the garden!

Yeah, I know, I was lying.

Antonia, this is just perfect, isn't it?

It's amazing.

You guys couldn't have done a better job for us.

-What's flying around?

-Butterflies.

We've chosen the plants on the basis of getting butterflies in

so they're already in here.

It's absolutely beautiful.

It is so, so gorgeous, peaceful and quiet and pretty.

This is amazing.

Really nice to just capture us as a family, as well,

with all of the designs and everything you've done.

It couldn't be more perfect.

And just knowing that I'll be able to be safe...

..is really, is just amazing.

Do you want to meet the people that did it?

Yeah, I really want to meet the people that did it.

Oh, look at everyone!

On you come!

Thank you so much.

I don't even know what to say.

You guys...have kind of given me, like, a new chance at life, really.

I'm just so grateful.

I don't know how to put it into words,

but you've changed my life, and I'm so grateful for it.

I just don't know what to say.

To see someone lose their independence

over the last couple of years is the hardest thing

because it's out of anyone's control.

We can't do anything about it, and we're all helpless.

To have just been able to see her be able to have that independence,

be able to go round the house,

and just do whatever she likes is just the biggest gift.

I can't put it into words. It's amazing.

Hi.

There's a butterfly theme running through this design,

and it's really appropriate when you think about it,

because Antonia's at that stage in her life

where she should be spreading her wings,

but despite the best efforts of all the medical staff looking after her,

they couldn't get her home.

But these people have.

So now she CAN spread her wings,

she can be that teenager and then flower into a woman,

and have all her friends around and do what people do.

That is an extraordinary gift, don't you think?

Maybe you know somebody who needs your help.

-Hi, princess.

-Hiya.

-It's amazing!

-It only exists for you.

-I know!

Thank you so much.

-You all right, my darling?

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Take care, all right?