Stair Climber
When Jill and I got married, we had to make many alterations to my home. Of course there was the normal aesthetic stuff—she wanted a few rugs replaced and new drapes—but there were also a number of practical concerns. Jill is in a wheelchair and my home was not exactly wheelchair friendly before she moved in. First I put in ramps on all of the exits and made sure that they were secure. My father was a carpenter, so I was able to do most of the work myself. Then she asked that I put in a stair climber.
At the time, I had no idea what a stair climber was. I thought they were those stupid looking machines at the gym that simulate stair climbing—you actually need an expensive piece of exercise equipment for that? I was a bit embarrassed to learn that a stair climber is a machine that helps handicapped people get up and down the stairs. Jill didn’t need one in her last residence because it was only one floor, but I have a long, winding staircase, and even though I carried her over the threshold on our wedding night, she wasn’t about to ask me to carry her up the stairs every night.
The next day I went shopping for a stair climber. There were many different models and types. Probably the most popular one is the chair model that is attached to a rail and helps you move up and down the stairs. But Jill wanted a model that would allow her to take her wheelchair upstairs with her and would not require that she switch chairs. These stair climbers are platform models. They allow the disabled person to simply wheel themselves onto a sturdy metal platform, secure themselves with a seatbelt, and then move up and down the staircase at their convenience.
I purchased a platform stair climber that is recommended for wheelchairs and went home to install it myself. As I said, I like to think of myself as a pretty handy fellow, but the job wasn’t a small one. Jill told me I should’ve had a guy from the store to put it in. But I wouldn’t hear of it. And, after I had installed the metal rail on which the platform moves, it didn’t take very long at all. The rails fit my staircase perfectly, and I even tried it out on its maiden voyage just to make sure everything was alright.
The stair climber works perfectly and offers a smooth ride and total control by the operator. Jill says she loves the feeling of freedom and independence the stair climber affords her and is glad to know I won’t have to carry her. Truth be told, I nearly dropped her on our wedding night.
