Lynne's story

I had a hip replaced seven years ago, and I needed a new knee four years ago. They have been very successful, but the other joints are deteriorating and I can tell I’m going to need other replacements eventually.

Over the past six months or so, I’ve had problems with my back that made going up stairs quite painful at times. But at the age of 82, I’m quite happy to deal with what comes my way and make life as easy as possible! So we thought it might be worth having a stair lift.

Choosing the right manufacturer 

We got in some brochures and looked at a few DVDs from suppliers, then we rang one firm up. They were installing another stair lift in the area so they had a representative nearby. He was extremely helpful and spent a lot of time with us, explained everything very carefully and wasn’t pushy. Perhaps we ought to have talked to some other firms, but we were very impressed with their representative so we decided to go ahead with it. We’d made up our mind to have it and we liked the idea that it was entirely British made.

About six days later we had a phone call saying the firm was installing another one nearby and if ours could be done at the same time we would get a fairly substantial discount. So they installed it within a week of that call. It’s quite a good design, for example it only has one track so it is not too intrusive and the seat and footstall all folds flat so it looks quite neat. I feel quite regal on it! It works very well and I feel perfectly safe. Sometimes it seems very slow, but maybe that’s because of the two tight curves because it goes slower around them.

 

I feel quite regal on it! It works very well and I feel perfectly safe.

Giving a break when it's needed 

I use it every day but not all the time and I don’t want to rely totally on it – it depends how energetic I’m feeling. But it’s very handy if I’m feeling a bit stiff or achy, and at night I’m very pleased to have it. It also makes it much easier to carry things upstairs such as bed linen and washing or cups of tea – much better than struggling up the stairs.

It helps me stay in my own home and I hope to be using it for many years to come. Some people say having a stair lift gives you more energy, but I think that’s a bit of wishful thinking!”