A MUSSELBURGH boy, who is battling an aggressive brain cancer, now has his own safe play area thanks to the generosity of friends, neighbours and also local businesses.

They rallied round with labour and donations to ensure six-year-old Declan Jardine can have fun in the garden at his Pinkie Avenue home.

When Declan was three he was playing in the front garden when he tripped on a bit of grass and smacked his head on the doorstep.

Mum Vicky Allen, 40, said: “He had a big lump but he was fine and the next day, it was gone. I phoned NHS 24 who said keep an eye on it and if he gets headaches or starts being sick take him to A&E.

“Something in my stomach told me there was something not quite right. I picked him up from nursery but he was falling all the time as if he was drunk. I took him to the doctor and we were sent to A&E. Within an hour, he was admitted as an emergency.”

Vicky said that doctors carried out an MRI scan and found a tumour on Declan’s brain stem.

She said they reckoned it had been there for at least two years prior to the fall and added that there had been no symptoms.

Vicky added: “The fall was a blessing. The size of the tumour was crushing his brain against the skull.

“A few days later he had his operation. They couldn’t remove all of it because of where it was situated, it was too dangerous. They got most

of it and then he went through radiation and chemotherapy, then he had a break. He then had the maximum high dose of radiation and chemotherapy.”

A biopsy on the tumour had shown that Declan had Medullo blastoma stage four – an aggressive brain cancer.

Vicky, a single mum, said: “He can’t be cured or go into remission. He is hearing and sight impaired, and has mobility issues. He can’t walk very far and has to

use his wheelchair to go down the street. He suffers severe fatigue.

“As long as he stays stable and gets regular MRIs, but there is always that high risk that it is going to recur but then again it might stay at bay. We just don’t know but I always believe that there are new treatments out there. I am not giving up and he’s not giving up.”

Vicky’s friend Stacey Patterson, a former next-door-neighbour from Tranent who now lives in Gifford, saw Vicky’s recent post on Facebook that she wanted to make the slabs and grass at the front of the house safe for Declan.

Stacey enlisted partner Connor Stibbles, who is originally from Tranent, and he was only too happy to get his sleeves rolled up.

Stacey’s dad Martin Yorkston, from Dunbar, also worked hard, making a sandpit and crafting a garden seat with a horseshoe design.

Connor, who is hoping to set up his own landscaping and gardening business, cut back an overgrown hedge which was making wheel-

chair access difficult and laid slabs, widening the entrance to the front garden.

A sturdy wooden fence was put up around the property and a safe play area, complete with trampoline, was created in the back garden.

As a surprise, Connor laid a decking area with seating which is a suntrap for the family to enjoy including Declan’s brother Reece, 12, and

sister Amber, 10.

Connor praised the local companies who donated materials: Strawberry Corner Garden Centre, Windymains Sawmill, Cut Price Timber and Drem Timber.

He said one of Vicky’s neighbours had allowed a skip, provided free-of-charge by Hamilton Waste, to be put in her driveway, and gave a donation of £230 to buy more materials.

Vicky added: “I can’t thank everyone enough, especially Stacey and Connor. Declan loves the garden, he can just run about without having to watch where he’s walking and he is not tripping as much.

“Before, I was constantly on edge the whole time but I now have peace of mind when he is in the garden."