Member Article

Stairlift company’s partnership brings life-changing gift

A Steeton-based company has given the gift of a stairlift to a grandmother thanks to a unique partnership with Marie Curie.

The national initiative between Acorn Stairlifts, which has been manufacturing and installing stairlifts for over 20 years, and Marie Curie will see up to £135,000 of stairlifts per year, installed free of charge across the country to enable long term patients the chance to return home. It has been a breakthrough gift for Sheena Gibbs who has spent the last few months in hospital or at the Marie Curie Hospice, Hampstead.

After devoting her life to caring for other people, Sheena, from Hampstead, was devastated when diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. The grandmother of five received support from Marie Curie’s Hampstead hospice and now, as the first person in the south of England to benefit from the stairlift partnership, is enjoying independence in her own home once again.

Sheena said: “I used to be what you call a ‘Shared Lives Carer’, which means that the people I looked after lived in my home with me. It was hard work, but it was gratifying.

“I then found out I had leukemia and caring for others became a struggle. I was taken into hospital but reacted badly to the chemotherapy and the high doses of morphine and ended up on a life support machine. After an unexpected proposal from my now fiancé, I recovered enough to be referred to the Marie Curie Hospice in Hampstead – it goes without saying that I was supported brilliantly there, it’s lovely.”

Following the support from the Marie Curie team, Sheena was finally able to return home but was still unable to manage the stairs and spent weeks living and sleeping in the lounge.

“When I was back in the hospice, the occupational health team suggested a stairlift because I wasn’t walking properly and still wouldn’t be able to manage the stairs at home. I was dubious at first but I knew I just couldn’t walk up those stairs. My knees and legs weren’t ready.”

Once Acorn donated and fitted the life changing stairlift, Sheena’s dream of a ‘normal’ life where she could use her stairs again was finally a reality.

“The stairlift gives me my independence back. I can go upstairs, I can use the toilet, I can go to bed – and come back downstairs in the morning to a normal life. When my bed was in the living room, I felt like I was in a rut because I could only use this part of the house.

“Now I feel so much better with the stairlift at home. It’s an absolute godsend and is brilliant to use, I’ve no problems at all. And it was ready and waiting for me when I came back from the hospital. I wouldn’t be without it. It’s wicked!”

Sheena added: “I now have two aims: the first is to marry Peter, the second is to go to the seaside and eat freshly cooked donuts.”

Dave Belmont, Acorn company secretary, said that making a difference to the lives of patients like Sheena is exactly why the company partnered with Marie Curie: “Our aim is to have stairlifts installed and ready to work before people return home from the hospice, giving them the chance to live as independently as they can in the comfort of their own home.

“We plan to install up to 60 stairlifts a year to Marie Curie patients across the UK who would benefit from returning home but need help with mobility around the house. As Sheena has shown, something as simple as a stairlift can transform lives.”

Nicky Read, head of corporate partnerships at Marie Curie, added:

“We are delighted to see the benefit the partnership is having for hospice patients like Sheena, who wish to be cared for in their own home. A stairlift can make all the difference to people living with a terminal illness and their families and we are looking forward to supporting more people as the year goes on.”

Acorn Stairlifts, which employs over 800 people in the UK, has recently been named a British manufacturing champion after its innovative and easy to use stairlifts received national industry recognition and its customer care achieved Trustmark accreditation.

Sheena has three children, and five grandchildren and lives in Hampstead with her fiancé, Peter and dog Jess.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Approach PR .