A £10,000 appeal has been launched to help a severely disabled Ipswich boy in "desperate need of a downstairs bedroom and wetroom" after his epilepsy worsened.
Rezart Alika manages his multiple diagnoses of severe epilepsy and learning difficulties with a "great sense of humour and a wonderful smile", mum Beth Alika says.
But a deterioration in his condition and mobility in recent years means the 13-year-old is now unable to walk without someone beside him to help.
A council grant cannot cover the "incredibly expensive" £65,000 cost of a conversion at his Ravenswood home, where he lives with his mum and younger brother.
So Rezart's family are "hoping to fundraise a chunk of money to be put towards costs", to give him a better quality of life.
"I want to be able to make him a safe place where he can relax and rest for years to come," Beth wrote on the appeal's JustGiving page.
Rezart currently has to sit down and shuffle down stairs, while he cannot bend down to pick things up and also suffers frequent seizures.
The adaptations to his Ipswich home "will mean that on bad days we don’t have to try and navigate stairs for the safety of him and myself", said Beth.
"The older he gets, the less manageable it has become due to his deterioration.
"He also spends a lot of time in his wheelchair now, so we need to make everything accessible to him."
She added: "He's so unsteady. He can't bend down to pick things up without falling over.
"He's got a really good sense of humour and he's very smiley, considering everything he has to go through.
"He's quite cheeky, but he's changed a lot in the past couple of years.
"He's a lot more tired and has barely been to school since Covid. His epilepsy is getting worse."
The family have so far raised about £2,800 and are looking to raise approximately £10,000 in total.
"If we don't have this done, he might not be able to live at home into his adult years - which, as his mum, I want him to be able to do," Beth said.
She added: "We would really be so grateful and appreciative for any donations to make mine and my two boys' lives that little bit easier."
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