From Overcrowded to Spacious

A lady living with her two children in a semi-detached council home had been struggling to use the stairs, bend down and walk easily in her home due to living with fibromyalgia. This changed significantly in the last couple of years and she now has a wheelchair.

Her Occupational Therapist had a look at the home environment and addressed the overcrowding and how things could be improved and noted how she had to crawl up and shuffle down the stairs. Using the kitchen and cooking for the family was a real challenge as she could not bend down to use the oven because of her condition and had limited workspace to safely prepare food. She also struggled to walk over the road and out to the car, needing a wheelchair to do both.

At the O.T.’s request, a ground floor bedroom and bathroom extension was planned by the team, including an improved kitchen, spacious living room, larger bedroom and en-suite bathroom.

Feedback:

“Before, it was just a rundown council home and it was really making me depressed. Since having a better kitchen space, my choice of colour on the walls, a larger living room and bedroom, I’m a lot happier. I feel like I’ve got my independence back.”