THE mother of Bowes teenager George Rabbett-Smith is hoping to bring her son home from hospital care with the help of a community fundraising appeal.
George, aged 19, is recovering from an attempt to take his own life in June 2023. His mum, Hilary Rabbett, intends carrying out major works at the family home to accommodate George’s changed needs.
She launched the Get George Home appeal earlier this year and next month, the 40-strong community group Affinity Community Rock Choir is performing a special 80s-themed concert in a bid to raise funds.
She revealed that she had recently secured funding from Continuing Healthcare for some major adaptations, such as a lift, a wet room and a sensory and physio area.
The concert, on May 17, was suggested by choir member Claire Jefferies, whose son Matthew is a close friend of George. She said: “George’s heartbreaking suicide attempt and his subsequent condition have been devastating for him.
“He and Matthew loved boxing and were enthusiastic sparring partners. My heart goes out to him and his amazing family as they have had ongoing battles with George’s physical health and desperately need him back home.
“As a member of the Affinity Community Rock Choir family I had the idea of bringing us together with our fabulous band, Making New Plans, to try to raise as much money as possible for the Get George Home project.”
She added: “As a choir we have an 80s repertoire – all really recognisable songs. We’ll be doing the first half and then our fabulous band, Making New Plans, will do the second half.”
Ms Rabbett said: “We don’t know how much exactly it will cost to adapt the house; it is an unknown. We have funding for works that will include fitting a lift so George will be able to access his bedroom.”
The money will also help create a wet room upstairs, an area for him to do physio and a sensory area.
She added: “When we set up the Get George Home project, we knew we needed things like a specialist sleep system and thanks to the Beyond Limits charity we now have this. We will need other things, such as new flooring so George’s wheelchair can be wheeled across it.
“We are still putting together a wish list of equipment that’s needed – things like somewhere to store the gym equipment he needs for physio and a mobile hoist.”
George is currently being cared for at Lyons Court in Evenwood and his health is improving. The family is keen to get him home as soon as possible.
She said: “His communication is coming on and he is quite stable. We always had slow blinks for ‘yes’ but we are getting fluttering blinks for ‘no’ now. As for chest infections, he has not had once since last November.
The stoma hole, which allowed medics to inset an artificial airway for him to breathe, is also slowly healing she added.
“It is a slow journey and we kind of knew it would be – but knowing that and living through it are two different things.
“We think we are going to need about £20,000 but we still don’t know exactly what we need. We have had lots of support from people, it’s amazing.”
