A Lifeline

Many people with disabilities will be dependent on specific items of equipment to support them in their day to day lives. My own son James is reliant on his electric cot bed and feeding pump.

Then he fell and fractured his patella.

James lives in an upstairs flat in supported accommodation. He was unable to walk for 10 weeks. His accident meant that he was unable to attend his day services because they could not meet his needs during this time. Therefore, he was spending much more time at home. As someone who is usually very active and sociable this could have been very damaging for him.

His staff, understandably, were not allowed to carry him up and down stairs. In those first few days after his accident my husband did, but this was not in any way ideal…or safe!

Enter the evacuation chair.

I cannot take the credit. It was my husband late one night who suggested we look for a specialist chair to enable ourselves and James’ staff to carry him safely up and down stairs. Sat up late in bed we googled and we found many such chairs were readily available. We made our purchase and eagerly awaited its arrival.

The chair isn’t pretty but its functional and folds easily to put into a car too. More importantly James took to using it from the very first time with nothing more than a few loud vocals to let us know he was a little unsure but this was to be expected as it was completely alien to him. In all honesty I was expecting it to be much more of a challenge.

I cannot tell you the difference this chair made.

With risk assessments done, for nine weeks ourselves and James’ staff carried James safely up and down the stairs.

This opened up a whole host of opportunities. James enjoyed many outings to the zoo, seafront and forest with his staff. We were able to take him for his regular cake trips and visits with his grandparents and much more.

This piece of equipment cost £130 and it was worth every penny. It made so much difference to James and his quality of life in what could otherwise have been a lonely and isolating time for him. Getting out of his flat and engaging in normal activities did wonders to maintain his good mental health. I don’t actually know what we would have done without it. It really was a lifeline.