Ten-year-old William Wienand has been through a rough couple of years.
After a sudden, long-lasting seizure in 2019, his life changed forever.
At just eight years old, William underwent a series of treatments and misdiagnoses, until his family was told he had focal cortical dysplasia, with an onset of epilepsy.
“Our journey is not over, and I don’t think it ever will be,” said William’s stepmother, Stacey Candice Lefort.
“It’s a journey that William is learning to live with and we are learning to live with and cope with together as a family.”
Since William’s diagnosis, the family has had to shift the way they live.
They all spend a lot of their time at home, which means William’s room is very important to him.
So when his mother found out about Fondation Espace Espoir and the work that they do, they applied immediately.
“We renovate, decorate bedrooms for chronically ill children and children with handicaps, for those 2-18 years old,” said founder, Andrea Leber.
After William’s application was accepted, Leber’s team got straight to work.
They went into the bedroom, removed the old furniture, painted, added wallpaper, brought in some new décor — and all at no charge to the family.
William’s first look into his new room was pure joy.
Also some amazement at how many nerf guns he actually has, and how nicely they look all displayed neatly on his new wall.
“I don’t like it, I love it,” he said.
Leber’s team, which is made up of volunteers, took two days to complete the project.
Leber, who founded the organization in 2019, uses her connections from her former job working at her family’s painting and decorating business, to reach out to painters, carpenters and other professionals, who all donate their time to work on the projects.
Their goal for William’s room was to minimize any inconveniences for him or the family and make the space comfortable and inviting.
“It’s important to do this for William so that he notices how much we care about him, no matter what he has gone through, or what we have gone through as a family,” said Lefort. “And that we love him no matter what.”
By the looks of it, William felt a lot of that love as he settled into his new room.
Leber says now that the pandemic is settling down, she hopes to do at least eight bedroom makeovers a year, so that she can spread this feeling to as many children as she can.
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