The Challenge
A brother, Mr. E and sister, Miss E have a rare form of muscular dystrophy, a degenerative condition meaning they will both need
increasingly high levels of care over their lives.
They live with Miss E’s teenage daughter and retired parents – who administer the bulk
of their care. In September 2012, the family was referred to Care and Repair because it was becoming
increasingly apparent that Mr. E and Miss E could no longer continue living in the house
– a standard
three bed semi-detached house in Leeds.
Both had growing care needs and increasingly restricted movement – indeed, Miss E
had already fallen several times attempting to climb the stairs. Their parents knew
their home must be adapted
– for the safety and security of their children.
Their father said: “Miss E likes to do things herself but it was reaching the stage where we had to
physically push her upstairs. As a retired couple ourselves, we just couldn’t manage anymore.
We were worried
what we would do if anything ever happened to us.”
“It was getting very difficult because we were all living on top of each other and
this was taking a harder toll on the whole family,” said their mum. “They needed
increasing amounts of care and
with a teenager in the house growing up and wanting their own space too – you
can imagine how difficult that was.”
The Solution
With the family moved out, work started in earnest in July 2013. After gutting the house, Care and Repair contractors reworked the whole of the downstairs and upstairs living spaces – making the home more
open plan and wheelchair accessible. This involved widening all the internal
and external doorways, creating an additional living area downstairs, increasing
the circulation space throughout,
providing a new utility room and building a new light and airy extension to the
back of the house to create extra space.
Care and Repair contractors also designed and fitted a through-ceiling lift to the
upstairs rooms and reworked the upstairs living areas to accommodate
two large bedrooms to give Katie and Stuart their own spaces and a large, fully adapted
disabled wet room with the latest equipment. Contractors also completed a full loft conversion to ensure
everyone could have their own spaces.
Mrs E (mum) said: “Living here is going to change our lives. We’ll all have privacy
and extra space and the safety of the lift is going to be a real peace of mind –
it will make a huge difference to them –
and to the whole family.”
Outside the house, Care and Repair contractors reworked the front garden to
accommodate a parking space and a ramp that will enable Mr. E and Miss E to move easily into the house. The
works also included converting the loft into bedrooms for the other family members who live there– to enable
everyone to have their own space.
Their father said: “We’re delighted with this option and how Care and Repair
have helped us through the whole process. They’re very experienced and
know what they’re doing. As soon as they became involved things
started falling into place – it’s been a pleasure working with them. We’ve all got our
own little places and it’s going to be a big improvement. We can live together as a family again now – it’s unbelievable really.”
Care and Repair also provided help through its Warm Homes Service to supply
the family with a new, up to date heating system. Working in close collaboration
with Care and Repair’s technical
team, the Warm Homes Service identified that the family qualified for financial
support from the government as their
existing heating system was inefficient and guided them through the complex
process of applying for grants.