Boy with rare blood condition stoked with 'life-changing' new play area

October 15, 2021

Seb Yardley’s backyard will get some desperate TLC.

Competing businesses in Canterbury have set aside their differences to give back to a sick child and a backyard in desperate need of some TLC. 

Seb Yardley was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia. He needed a bone marrow transplant but was unable to find a match from 26 million donors worldwide.

"He's just incredible. He's so resilient and sadly, it's become his normal," mum Caroline Yardley told Seven Sharp.

The five-year-old endured a year of blood and platelet transfusions and now, he's in remission. 

The Yardleys' backyard before the transformation was perfect for the family cat to seek cover in.

While he could play outdoors, he needed a yard to play in - and that's when his mum asked Satan's Little Helper for help. 

"We ordered pizza from Hell's and it was at the bottom of the confirmation email and I was like, 'Oh, what's this? I reckon Seb deserves a backyard and this might be a way of doing it, given that two years of hospital visits have sucked up my savings'," Yardley explained. 

The team at Hell Pizza passed the message on to Canterbury's registered master landscapers.

"Immediately, some people put their hand up and it just generated momentum really quickly," Hell Pizza CEO Ben Cumming said.

Registered master landscaper Roger Morgan said while spring is a busy time for landscapers, "That's OK - this garden was designed for Seb and he's had a bit of input into the design of what he thinks is quite neat". 

"He wanted a volcano. We haven't quite gone for the volcano," Morgan said.

"I love it - I absolutely love it. I'm going to be wowed myself," another landscaper added. 

Seb Yardley’s backyard will get some desperate TLC.

While the job would usually take up to three weeks, the competing businesses managed to complete it in just one. 

"It's actually life-changing, so thank you," Yardley said. 

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