Ipswich Couple Feel Right At Home With House Lift

After a hip replacement operation and the prospect of knee replacement surgery to follow, Pauline’s ability to walk was undoubtedly becoming affected so Dr Hilary Graham desperately needed to find a solution that would enable his wife to get upstairs in their home.

Otherwise, the couple from Ipswich in Suffolk risked having to sell the cottage they had shared together for years as the operation would leave the 72-year-old unable to sleep in the main bedroom upstairs or even use the shower room.

Mrs Graham’s health had deteriorated to such an extent that the stairs had become more and more challenging to climb. Dr Graham, 74, believed a house lift for domestic use might be the best way of allowing his wife to keep her independence and move around their home freely. They did not even consider a stairlift due to their steep and winding stairs.

A simple Google search on Dr Graham’s Apple iPad brought up a unique mobility offering from Stiltz Lifts – a home lift that could be fitted virtually anywhere in the home due to its size, drive mechanism and dual rail system. With no load bearing walls required, the Stiltz Lift was the only non-hydraulic domestic lift on the market.

It turned out to be the perfect solution for the Grahams as the lift could be fitted easily, and more importantly, quickly, with the installation taking less than a day. With Mrs Graham potentially wheelchair-bound in the future, the couple switched from a Stiltz Duo Lift to a Trio Lift – a deeper and wide lift that could easily accommodate a standard-sized wheelchair.

However, Pauline suddenly had to undergo emergency abdominal surgery making the need for a lift even more of a necessity when she left hospital. Assembled at their headquarters in Wokingham, Berkshire, Stiltz Lifts was able to speed up the 12-week lead-time for the couple’s lift and have it fitted in their home within six weeks before Mrs Graham was discharged and able to go home.

Mrs Graham said: ‘I have multiple disabilities and orthopaedic disorders such as problems with my hips and knees and it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to climb the stairs.

“I’ve used Zimmer frames and walking sticks in the past but as my issues worsened it was taking longer and longer for me to get upstairs. I was then due to have operations on my abdomen and knee so I foresaw that it would become virtually impossible for me to get upstairs at all after that. Without a home lift, it would have meant I would have had no access to the main bedroom or shower room.

“I assumed that there would be companies out there that did some type of lift or elevator for domestic use and didn’t even contemplate a stairlift with our main winding staircase so my husband did a simple search on Google on my iPad and Stiltz Lifts came top of the list.

“Originally we decided on the Stiltz Duo Lift but with it likely that I may need a wheelchair one day it seemed crazy not to go for the Trio Lift which can fit a wheelchair. They said the lead-time was about 12 weeks but they managed to bring the installation forward due to my emergency op. This meant I didn’t need months sleeping downstairs. It only took Stiltz less than a day to install the lift.”

Powered by a roped drum-braked gear motor drive system that plugs into the wall using a normal 13-amp socket, the Stiltz Lift travels via an innovative dual rail system with the weight of the lift carried in compression through the rails and into the floor of the home. In the Grahams’ case, the Stiltz team removed one of two staircases in the cottage, and fitted the lift in its place – this was ideal as this type of application used the dead space in the stairwell void.

Mrs Graham added: “We live in an old cottage which used to be two separate buildings so it had two staircases so Stiltz took out one of them, made a hole in the floor and cut a hole through to the ceiling, and installed the lift in its place. It was as simple as that. You would not even know the lift was there as we had boxed staircase there previously.

“The lift goes straight up into our main bedroom and I’m just a few feet away from our bed once I’m up there. The lift is perfect and worth every penny. It has meant we haven’t needed to sell our home and it has let me move around our home independently. We’re so grateful that there is a product like this out there and would happily endorse Stiltz lifts to anyone.”

For more information on Stiltz Lifts visit www.stiltz.co.uk