South Warwickshire community comes to aid of family after sudden death of husband and father

But mid-way through his project, the 60-year-old was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died two-and-a-half months later.

A year before his death, the couple’s five-year-old son Malachi was diagnosed with a rare type of eye cancer.

And the couple’s other son, six-year-old Remy, is severely autistic with learning difficulties and speech delay.

Caring for the boys and her 11-year-old daughter Ophira Bella, takes up most of Stacey’s time.

She was “amazed” when her friend Emma Sabin set up a Just Giving page to raise cash to finish plastering and painting the Collins family home and put down carpets.

The appeal has already raised £1,000 of its £1,500 target and more than seven people, including Emma and her husband, have volunteered to paint and decorate.

One of the first rooms the team tackled was Remy and Malachi’s bedroom which is now freshly painted blue and fitted with new bunkbeds.

A stranger, who spotted the appeal online, has offered a free carpet for the boys’ bedroom.

The tumour in Malachi’s eye was spotted by a Shipston optician in 2020, when he was just two years old.

Stacey recalled: “I could see it in his eye – it was shiny, like a moon, so I knew something was wrong.

“We were waiting for a hospital appointment when I took Malachi to the optician and they said straight away: ‘This baby needs to go to hospital’.

“We found out later that three-quarters of his eye was tumour and he was taken into hospital that same day.”

Malachi, who’s at Shipston Primary school, went through two rounds of chemotherapy and has lost the sight in his right eye. Stacey takes him for regular check-ups at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where doctors monitor the rare, genetic cancer.

Remy, who attends Welcombe Hills school in Stratford, is “delightful”, Stacey says. But she added: “I have to be constantly on the ball, because he has the mental age of a two-year-old and runs off all the time. He is happy as long as he’s fed and has plenty of cuddles but we can’t always do normal things. For instance, when my daughter needs new shoes, because Remy can’t cope with shops and he’s in a disability buggy, it can be tricky.”

The boys are thrilled with their revamped bedroom.

Stacey said: “Malachi loves it and although Remy is non-verbal, he’s excited – he’s been under the quilt, giggling, so he’s happy.”

Emma and Stacey have just finished painting the kitchen.

“It looks so fresh, it’s really cheered me up,” Stacey said. “I’ve spent so long being depressed about the state of the house but with having two poorly children, I just haven’t been able to do anything about it.”

She added: “I’ve had to accept that Phil is gone but it still doesn’t seem real. Grief is a real pain in your heart, like having a heavy bowling ball in your stomach all the time.”

When the family moved in, the garden was overgrown but Phil tackled that and was half-way through transforming two outdoor sheds into a bathroom and utility block, when he became ill.

“He was an amazing dad, so protective and would do anything for the children,” Stacey recalled.

She said: “He worked hard so hard on this house - he said it had so much potential and was going to be our ‘forever home’.

“I’m just so grateful and overwhelmed at people’s kindness, because I know everyone’s struggling at the moment, so I really appreciate their generosity. I’ve never met such nice people before moving to Shipston, it’s a really lovely community and everybody’s so kind.

“I want to say a big thank you to everyone’s who’s donated or helped in any way – you have really lifted my spirits.”

To donate to the appeal, see the Just Giving page: Crowdfunding to Staceys husband tragically passed away when midway though decorating their new home a 5 year old son with cancer and 6 year old with Autism.