A WHEELCHAIR-bound teen who needs round-the-clock medical care urgently needs your help.

Born prematurely, Robbie Young was given a short life expectancy but has defied the odds to live his days to the fullest.

The 18-year-old has now outgrown his bedroom at the family's purpose-built house in the Lyth Valley – so The Westmorland Gazette today launches a campaign to give the teenager the space he needs.

A Cumbria County Council grant has been given to extend his room, but the project is £10,000 short. The Gazette's campaign - Give Robbie Room - is calling on kind-hearted readers to dig deep into their pockets to give Robbie the room he deserves. Details of how to donate can be found at the end of this story.

The vital cash will be put towards labour, materials, enlarging the downstairs doorways to accommodate his new wheelchair, the creation of another access point directly into Robbie's first-floor bedroom, re-plastering, making a wider front door, decorating and storage for equipment and medical supplies.

Work to almost double the size of his room began last week and is due to be finished by late October - but without the £10,000 it will just be an empty shell.

Robbie's mum Heather, who has handed her notice in as duty manager at the Gilpin Hotel and Lake House to help care for her son over the coming months, said: "It would make a massive difference and make it into a proper bedroom for him."

Robbie, who attends Kendal's Sandgate School and spends some of his spare time at the Jigsaw Children's Hospice in Carlisle, was born 12-and-a-half weeks premature at Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

There, he contracted septicaemia which led to severe brain damage, which resulted in quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

His parents were told they would be extremely lucky if he reached ten.

Over the years a number of medical conditions developed including epilepsy and chronic lung disease.

He is now fed through a tube and has to wear a mask at night to help him breathe.

When Robbie was eight, the family re-mortgaged their home three times to fund a brand new purpose-built house in Crosthwaite, near to a farm where Mr Young's parents lived.

No grants were received because they are not available for new builds.

The family decided six months ago an extension was needed and they successfully applied to the county council for the maximum amount possible.

"We can't even fit a chair in his room so he can be fed," said Heather, 43. "We are struggling to get his wheelchair through the doorways, he hasn't stopped growing yet and will need a new wheelchair in a few years. Then he won't be able to access any other rooms in the house so we need to do it now.

"It basically will mean he can go from having a small room to one where he can have his own personal space. Most teenagers want the opportunity to be able to go to their room, shut the door and watch the TV without having to share their rooms on an evening with their family."

As well as giving Robbie more freedom, the new bedroom will also be beneficial to his carers.

The dedicated team care for Robbie 24 hours a day, four nights a week, and have to sit in the family's lounge as his room is too small.

"Robbie's bedroom has a door to the lounge and the carers stay in the lounge with us," said Heather, who looks after Robbie with her husband for the other three nights of the week.

"When he goes on his oxygen pack he has a tendency to pull it off. Carers have to go back in and put it back on his face. He can stop breathing up to six times a night and the oxygen levels in his blood can reduce dramatically so they need to be there to do that.

"He looks at his carers as being his mates, the oldest is 33 so they all have similar interest and on his wavelength.

"So the extension means his carers can be in his room and the family get their space back as well because we all have to live together."

And despite his life-limiting problems Robbie remains determined to life an active life.

The rally fan even played a starring role in the Kendal Torchlight Festival in a Subaru car.

Heather said: "We have never restricted him from doing anything he wants to do. We always have found a way to do it but it might just take us that little bit longer.

"He has been canoeing, abseiling, rock-climbing, pot-holing, rally-driving, skiing, ice-skating - all in his wheelchair.

"The extension will give him that little bit of independence that we have always encouraged in his life."

HOW TO DONATE

Send your donation (cheques only) made payable to Robbie Young c/o Tom Murphy, The Westmorland Gazette, 1 Wainwright's Yard, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DP. Cheques should be marked on the back'Give Robbie Room'

You can also donate online at: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/RobstersPad