Woman amazed at generous support

Sarah de la Haye who has Cerebral Palsy received an anonymous donation of $1000 after losing a bathroom deposit when Mercy Renovators went into voluntary liquidation. Photo / Duncan Brown

Sarah de la Haye may as well be on American TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with all the emotional ups she's had this week.

The Hastings woman with Cerebral Palsy feared a new bathroom and the chance to eventually marry her fiance were totally out of reach after losing a $4250 deposit when Mercy Renovators went into voluntary liquidation.

Ms de la Haye had planned to remove a bath and shower at the home she shared with fiance Craig Hansen to make room for a wet area, which would allow her to shower unassisted and give her much needed independence.

Her faith in people had been renewed after being inundated with support. "It's like what you see on TV programmes, like that Extreme Makeover you don't expect it to happen here in New Zealand. This is on a smaller scale but it's been amazing."

Yesterday a blank envelope containing $1000 cash was left at Hawke's Bay Today.

An accompanying letter read: "I too have been let down by people and put into debt." It was simply signed: "Love and blessings."

Ms de la Haye was in total disbelief as she pulled out $50 notes - her face said everything words couldn't manage.

When the shock wore off she said: "whoever you are, I can't thank you enough, thank you."

A group of local tradesmen and suppliers had also put their hands up to donate time and materials for the renovations. It came after a plea from Shayne Annan, owner of Suncity Plastering and Wet-seal Hawke's Bay. Now all they needed was a permit to be signed off by Hastings District Council to begin work on the original plan laid out by Mercy Renovators.

Funds in Ms de la Haye's Givealittle account have swelled to $655. Anyone wanting to keep up with progress on the bathroom can ask to join the Facebook page: Wet Area Shower updates - Sarah de la Haye.

-To donate: givealittle.co.nz/cause/wetareashower2015