Helpers rally for Grace

Spirited local fundraising fundraising efforts are helping Carterton girl Grace Yeats' family to plan the modification of their home and finally contemplate her homecoming over the coming months.

Plans for the redesign of their home have been submitted to the council and they are now awaiting formal approval.

The 11 year-old was recently diagnosed as only the 13th person ever worldwide to have contracted a rare and incurable variant of Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis or Adem.

The diagnosis followed nine months in Auckland's Starship Hospital and almost two months in Wairarapa Hospital, where extensive medical treatment and tests had been conducted.

A range of fundraising efforts have helped the Grace Yeats Trust to reach well in excess of $50,000 and volunteers hope to be able to raise further funding to allow them to modify a specialised van and offer financial support to the family.

One such fundraising venture, which began last spring, was initiated after a chance meeting between a mother and daughter and Grace's father.

Herb Farm managing director Sarah Cowan and her mother Lynn Kirkland from Palmerston North learned of Grace's story when buying wood from the business owned by Grace's father. They are now well on the way to raising their $10,000 target.

Last year, Mrs Cowan and Mrs Kirkland were told that Grace's mother Tracy had used the herb farm's Baby Calm Oil to give Grace regular massages and they then decided to develop Grace's Oil of Gratitude. To date the mother and daughter team have raised more than $5500 for the trust, which will allow the Yeats family to modify their home in Carterton so Grace can finally move home.

Mrs Cowan said she was confident the goodwill surrounding the product would help sales to steadily increase. "We haven't raised our target yet, so we're going to continue selling it and looking for every opportunity to promote it," she said. "Some people come in to try the bottle and people love the oil."

Grace's Oil of Gratitude can be bought for $20 online at www.herbfarm.co.nz or at the retail shop and is also available at the Pak'n Save in Masterton; the Lorna Potter Hospice, Masterton; Hall, Greytown; and Simply Devine, Carterton. All profits are going to the Grace Yeats Trust.

If there are any tradesmen or building contractors who are interested in supporting or getting involved in the modification of the Yeats' home, they are asked to email bringhomegrace@gmail.com for more details. The family have said they would greatly appreciate any offers of support or assistance.