A disabled teenager has finally been able to come home after being stuck in hospital for 18 months before BBC show DIY SOS volunteers stepped in. After a brain tumour left Dan Flemen in a wheelchair, he was unable to leave the Manchester hospital ward until the family home was renovated to meet his needs. This meant mum, Julie, stayed by Dan's side in the hospital and dad, Nigel, at home looking after their daughters Charlotte and Emily. The family had been living 50 miles apart for several years whilst they got funds to renovate their bungalow near Preston in Lancashire.
Family's ordeal began with a brain tumour
Explaining what happened to 16-year-old Dan, his dad Nigel told DIY SOS: “We were a normal family with normal problems. One night we noticed Dan was a bit unsteady on his feet. The doctor saw him in the morning and said he had an ear infection and tonsillitis. By the Friday of that week, he was still unwell.” Mum Julie then went with Dan to the hospital, and they received a shocking diagnosis. Nigel added: "Julie was crying down the phone, they had found a tumour directly on top of the brain."
Doctors carried out emergency surgery, but Dan suffered a stroke during the operation, which has led to him being in a wheelchair and barely able to speak, and with complex disabilities. After further treatment, Dan could have come home from the hospital 18 months earlier, but any property would have needed to be suitable. Dad Nigel said getting their home ready for Dan’s needs felt “so unachievable” until DIY SOS and its host Nick Knowles got involved.
Eight months' work in eight weeks
The team took on an ambitious build to transform their house so that Dan could finally come home and bring the family back together. The project involves hundreds of people and material suppliers to help do “eight months' work in eight weeks”. Viewers of DIY SOS tonight (Tuesday) see the bungalow is expanded, and football fan Dan was given a Manchester City-themed bedroom, which was perfect for his needs. The family’s finished home also includes a new utility room, kitchen, and new fitted bedrooms for the family, all of which are accessible to Dan.
Shortly before the house was finished, show host Nick Knowles was uncharacteristically moved to tears. This had been one of the hardest and biggest challenges in the series' 27-year history. Nick said: "I genuinely don't know how to put into words how tough this has been, how amazing everyone has been, how much doubt I had along the way, how much guilt I felt, and how amazing it is that these amazing people have called it of physically and emotionally draining."
Dan comes home and family reunites
Dan was then brought home from the hospital in an ambulance, and the street was lined with all the workers who helped rebuild the family home. Parents Nigel and Julie were already in tears by the time they went into the house, and Dan was, too, when he saw his new bedroom. Dad Nigel said: “This is the start of our lives getting back together. Things changing for the better.” Going outside to address the builders, mum Julie said: “I just want to thank all of you for helping us to get Dan home and we can all be together as one.” Dad Nigel added: “What you have done is truly life changing for us. The past three years have been terrible, but this…Dan can come home and we can be a family, for the first time since November '22[2022]. Every time we sit round the table having dinner, we’ll think of you, what you did for us. Thank you to everyone.”
The home for Dan was actually finished in October 2025, but the programme of the renovation and emotional story is only airing now on the BBC. DIY SOS is on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer on Tuesdays at 8pm.
