A woman diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease has found a way to stay in her ‘dream home’ after installing a Stiltz homelift to help her move between floors.
Liz Wilcox moved to a beautiful five-bedroom property in Hawkwell, Newcastle-On-Tyne just four years ago with her husband, Graham.
But the former teacher was left shell-shocked after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in November, 2017. The condition occurs when specialist nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord called motor neurones stop working properly, affecting mobility.
Mrs. Wilcox’s condition has progressively worsened, and she now finds it extremely difficult to use the stairs without help from her husband. They had faced the daunting prospect of putting their stunning property up for sale and move to a bungalow or ground floor appartment.
However, the 69-year-old has now become one of the first people in the country to have a Stiltz Trio+ Homelift installed. The lift is located discreetly inside a cupboard in the hallway which was originally used to store coats, and travels through the floor on self-supporting rails up to an almost identical space in a cupboard on the landing above. It also plugs straight in to a standard domestic socket making it exceptionally flexible in terms of where it can go in the home.
Mrs. Wilcox says this ingenious product has ‘changed her life’ and means that the couple no longer have to contemplate leaving their beloved property behind.
Mrs. Wilcox, who now uses a walker and has just started using an electric wheelchair for longer trips into town, said: “It was just becoming more and more difficult for me to use the stairs and it was getting to the stage where I would struggle down in the morning and not go upstairs again until Graham got home from work in the evening. Once he was at home if I needed something from upstairs, he would get it for me.
“We didn’t want to move. We love this house and are really settled here. I’m a keen gardener and although I can’t do what I used to do, I couldn’t imagine having to leave here so Graham started looking at mobility aids.
“We have a turning staircase so a stairlift wouldn’t work in our house. Now we have the Stiltz I’ve got my independence back and it has transformed my life. It’s much easier and, more importantly, safer for me than going up the stairs. I can fit my walking frame in it and it looks far more attractive than a stairlift.
“Stairlifts are too invasive. I didn’t want something like that in plain view that highlights my disability whereas with the Stitlz Homelift nobody would even know it was there because it is tucked in cupboard! I might be 69 but I’m young at heart!”
