Diagnosed with cancer just eight weeks earlier, Shaun McAuley knew he did not have long left when he turned to wife Lindsey and said: “Sorry I’m leaving you in such a mess.”
It was one of the last things the doting husband and father said before he died at just 39.
And sadly, the mess was not just the grief the family would face.
Shaun had been mid-way through a renovation of their home when he fell ill and now they were left with no kitchen, bathroom, running water or power in an uninhabitable house.
Lindsey, 39, moved back into her parents’ place with children Maisy, 16, Hazel, 13, Leo, four and one-year-old Zac, not knowing how long they would have to be there.
But now, she is able to start a new chapter thanks to DIY SOS: The Big Build after Nick Knowles and his team joined hundreds of volunteers to finish the work in just seven days.
Lindsey says: “Shaun would have been amazed at what they achieved and thankful for what everyone’s done for his family. He would have loved living here.
“To know so many people have come together to create this beautiful house out of the goodness of their own hearts, it’s just amazing. Without the show, we wouldn’t have been home for quite some time.”
Lindsey first met Shaun on a dating app and they wed in December 2019.
She says: “Shaun was kind, he was a really energetic person and people loved being around him.
“He had a witty sense of humour, always joking and pulling pranks. He was always supportive. He was just a brilliant man, a brilliant stepdad to the girls and dad to Leo and Zac.”
The family home had been extended and last September former Royal Engineer Shaun was preparing to fit a new kitchen and bathroom, when he started experiencing lower back pain.
Doctors found a mass in his stomach which they removed, along with part of his bowel and a kidney on October 1. But the cancer spread to his lungs and he died on November 10, within two months of his diagnosis.
Lindsey says: “When we found out it was a really rare cancer it was a huge shock because he was so well, so fit and healthy. Shortly after Shaun had his operation he was desperate to get home for Zac’s first birthday. He made it home and a couple of weeks later it was Leo’s birthday but unfortunately Shaun was in hospital for that.
“Leo visited him in hospital and that was the last time he saw him.”
As the family struggled through Shaun’s final days and weeks, Lindsey’s best friend Millie sprang into action.
Lindsey recalls: “When Shaun was poorly and had his operation, he came home for a while but we knew he wouldn’t be able to do the work he wanted.
“Millie asked him then if it would be OK to contact DIY SOS and he was fine with that. The producers got back in contact with her a week after Shaun died, they didn’t know he had died. They were keen to help.”
Midwife Lindsey admits she was really nervous on the day she handed over her keys to the home to Nick, 59.
But she adds: “Thankfully he was so genuine and kind, he’s such a lovely man, it was like speaking to a family member who we’ve not seen for a while. The team were all absolutely amazing and so supportive, everything was done at my pace.”
And Nick was determined to make sure the renovation was done right.
He says: “Shaun served his country. He set out to build this house for his family. He wanted to provide and protect. What we have seen is that everyone here is determined to pick up where he left off so they have a family home.”
The house in Kettering, Northants, had a stunning transformation, with designer Gabrielle Blackman, hundreds of local tradespeople, volunteers and some of Shaun’s old Army pals stepping in to help.
Highlights include the kitchen which has become the hub of the home, a purpose-built studio at the bottom of the garden for Maisy and Hazel and a bedroom for Lindsey.
She says: “Everyone has their own space to go off and grieve privately by themselves and we have the areas where we can come together.
“Our house is so chaotic with toddlers and teenagers it’s nice they can all escape each other and find a bit of solace on their own but it’s really nice we can be together too.
“The girls absolutely love their studio, Maisy does her GCSE revision in there and Hazel does painting.
“And my bedroom is lovely, when you go to bed at night it’s so peaceful.”
Shaun remains at the very heart of the home. Lyndsey adds: “The extension was something Shaun and I were going to be doing together and it’s nice I can feel he’s still here. He’s still part of the family.”
The new series of DIY SOS starts Tuesday at 8pm on BBC One and is available on iPlayer.
