Mark Wilson was born blind, but he never let that slow him down. He is
a skilled piano player who generously shares his musical talents by teaching
children and entertaining the elderly.
But in February
that came to a complete halt when Mark suffered a seizure, and doctors found a
massive cancerous tumour in his brain.
"I mean, he went
through the works," says friend Nigel Hirst. "X-rays, MRI scan, CT scan, every
test imaginable, and then they found out he had this cancerous growth - and it
turned out to be about the size of a mandarin."
With Mark
recuperating at his parents' house, his friend Pete McInally decide to surprise
him with some new carpet - but once he scratched the surface he realised Mark's
place needed a lot more work.
"When we first got here, his
computer was running eight plugs off the double adapter coming off the oven,"
says Pete.
"There was live wires coming from the apartment
down right at the side of the shower, and water seeped out all over the floor,"
says Nigel.
And with minimal insulation and just two small
bar heaters, Mark's place simply wasn't fit for the cold Queenstown
winters.
"That's where I just thought I'll go round town,
see how I go, and basically everyone just said 'no problem'," says
Pete.
More than 30 local businesses jumped on board,
donating time, money, furniture and fittings.
"The
reaction is just fantastic, it's amazing," says Sandy McInally. "This little
town in a recession, or the big 'R' word we're not allowed to use. People have
been so giving, it's amazing, absolutely amazing."
What
was meant to be a few small tidy-ups soon escalated into a complete home
makeover.
"We've got new linings on the walls," says Trev
Meikle, "new kitchen going in, insulation on all the walls now, which it didn't
have. Into the lounge, new heat pump, double glazing and so on, there's gonna be
a new LCD TV going on here, carpet, lick of paint everywhere through the whole
lot… new door handles, everything, new lights going on as
well."
The whole renovation has cost tens of thousands of
dollars and an untold number of hours in labour, and many of those who've worked
so hard don't even know the man.
"I don't personally know
him at all, but it was just, you know it could be anyone of us that has that
thing happen to ya, so it's just a good cause," says Marty McDonald of Coronet
Woodware.
"I've met him twice," says Jason Campbell of
Campbell Electric. "Once at my wedding - he played at our wedding at the church
and stuff, so he's not a bad sort of fella."
And after
more than two months of hard slog, Mark's unit is
unrecognisable.
This was anything but a straight-forward
makeover. Not only did the space have to be comfortable and functional for a man
recovering from a major operation and cancer, they had to take photographs of
where all Mark's furniture was placed so that when Mark came home he'd be able
to find his way around.
And on his return home Mark
immediately sensed things were different.
"It's absolutely
fantastic, absolutely incredible, and I'm just absolutely moved by all the
dedication and all the thought that's gone into this."
And
there was one more surprise - a welcome home party with the friends and
strangers who made it all happen.