Home modifications; what to do right now

[Diana Belland]

I was diagnosed on March 4, 2019, so my husband and I are still getting used to the whole idea of my having a degenerative illness.  We really need to start thinking about changes soon, I know.   We have a two story home with finished basement/laundry room.  For now, I can walk up and down stairs from second floor to main floor, using a cane, and I also go down to the basement to do laundry and to use the treadmill there.   My husband, bless his heart, has taken over transporting laundry up and down the stairs.

The master bath has a stall shower large enough for a shower chair.  I can safely take a shower using the chair.  We are planning to add grab bars ASAP.

My husband has been looking into a chair lift for the stairs but the staircase leading from main floor to bedroom floor is curved.  Has anyone else dealt with this kind of staircase and found a solution?

We have thought about the possibility of transforming a small. main floor study into a bedroom and adding a stall shower to the adjoining powder room.   We would love to stay in our home for as long as possible.   But we may find that moving to a smaller, one level ranch would be more affordable than making renovations to the house.

I use a wonderful Drive Nitro Rollator on the main floor.  This item is my constant companion!  I can still walk around the house with a cane, but the rollator allows me to easily transport things from room to room, and when I’m working in the kitchen, preparing a meal, I keep it close by for rest breaks.   It has a broad, safe, secure seat—very comfy!  Dagmar, i think I saw a link to this same rollator in a reply you wrote in a recent column.

I think that having a rollator on each floor of my house would be a terrific idea to prevent the possibility of falls.  Dagmar, I know you have mentioned that you own three.   I am looking for an all terrain rollator that I could use outside on nature trails.  Do you have any recommendations?   There are so many online to choose from!

Thank you,

Diana

[Dagmar]

Diana – – My Drive Nitro Rollator is wonderful to use around the house. I use the other 2 rollators (cheaper models) in the yard and in our van for short walks into restaurants. For longer distances, like a shopping mall or Walmart; I have my Drive electric scooter.

I haven’t had experience using a rollator off- road (or off flat cement)…only know that gravel is hard to push through and bumpy ground is rough as well. A friend has a Volaris All-Terrain PATROL Fitness Rollator Walker, and it seems to be tough and easy to walk with.

Kudos to you for tackling nature trails! 🙂

[Michael Morale]

Hi Diana, my name is Michael Morale. I read your comment regarding questions about installing a chairlift on a staircase that is curved. There are quite a few chairlift companies out there, and the majority can put a lift on a staircase that is curved. I’m not sure if they could do a staircase that is a complete circular staircase, but I don’t think this is what you’re talking about.

I would call a company and have them come out and look at your particular staircase, because I’m sure that they could work around any obstacles that you have to ensure that they can install a safe chairlift that would suit your needs. I’ll keep checking this forum to see if you have any further questions, but I do believe that they can install a chairlift that will get you from one floor of your house to the other.

[Diana Belland]

Thank you so much, Michael,for yo ur good suggestions! I began looking online this morning and found some companies that do chair lifts for curved stairs and will do free consultations.  I am hoping that installing a chair lift will be considerably less expensive than remodeling the study and powder room.   I will let you know what I find out in case it might help others with the same situation.