Severely disabled teenager Sophie Kavanagh has her own care home thanks to the hard work of her parents.
Paul and Gill Kavanagh have spent two years setting up Silk Homecare for their daughter because they were worried about what would happen to her in adult life.
Sophie, 19, was born with Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic condition that left her unable to speak, epileptic and functioning at the level of an 18-month-old child. She needs round the clock care.
Her dad sold the family home and gave up his job in IT to set up the non-profit making home for Sophie to live in with her school friend Catherine Lawson.
The two have now moved in and are living happily with the support of full-time care provided by social services.
Paul said he embarked on the project because he was concerned about what would happen to Sophie when he and his wife were no longer around.
He said: “Usually people like Sophie are put into long-stay institutionalised care, but she’s always had an active life and we wanted her to have that in the future.
“We put our lives on hold for two years, gave up our home and savings, I gave up my job so I could focus full time on this. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
A spokesman for Cheshire East Council said: “We are very pleased to have been able to work creatively and flexibly with Mr Kavanagh in order to achieve the type of service that he wanted for his daughter, as an alternative to other types of support that were discussed.”