Member Article

Durham family get a ‘life changing’ gift

A 10-year-old Durham girl has been given the gift of independence at the home she shares with her grandparents and great grandmother thanks to a kind hearted stairlift manufacturer.

Ron and Linda Ather (63), grandparents of cerebral palsy sufferer Jasmine, are ‘flabbergasted by the kindness’ of Acorn Stairlifts who donated and installed a curved stairlift worth around £5,000 after hearing of their plight during a phone call from Jasmine’s 84-year-old great grandma, Freda Burney.

“Jasmine has had cerebral palsy since birth and needs to have everything done for her from getting dressed to moving around the house,” Linda explained. “Six years ago she moved in with us and my mother who is recovering from lung cancer and has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Between us, we manage every aspect of her daily care.”

Jasmine needs daily physiotherapy and a large amount of mobility equipment including a walking frame, standing frame and a special bike to help keep her legs mobile. But the family’s biggest challenge is tackling the stairs.

“My mum needs the downstairs bedroom because she gets so breathless, so every day Ron carries Jasmine up and down the stairs. It’s not just at bedtimes. As a 10-year-old she wants time with her friends in her room – how can we say ‘no, it’s too hard to get you there’ when it’s so normal for a child to spend time in their bedroom?”

She added: “It’s heart breaking to watch Ron struggle and Jasmine is in so much pain when she is lifted. As she grows, Ron is finding it harder and harder to carry her. We know the situation can only get worse as she gets older, we’ve been living with a growing sense of doom. It got to a point recently where my mum decided she had to enquire about getting a stairlift.”

Freda, who hasn’t been upstairs in the family home for five years, called Acorn Stairlifts in July and was told that a curved stairlift would cost more than £4,000 but could be fitted within days.

“We just sat with our heads in our hands when we heard. We knew we could never afford it but knew it would make all the difference. We’d heard that stairlift waiting lists through the local authority can take months – if not years – to sort. We felt had no solution for our future. No plan and no hope.”

But out of the blue, the family received an unexpected phone call from Acorn.

“We answered the phone and it was Acorn saying they wanted to help. They offered us the curved stairlift and its installation for free!”, Linda explained. “We still can’t believe it. We’re flabbergasted, over the moon – something of this magnitude restores your faith in human nature. It changes your life.

“The stairlift has switches on the end of the arms making it the only thing in Jasmine’s life that she can actually control herself. She is so excited every time she travels upstairs on it, her face is a picture. And for my mum, it means she can finally get upstairs to our ‘second lounge’ and we can have girlie nights in together while Ron watches the TV downstairs!”

Linda added: “Within days of our phone call, Acorn has given us a life together that we never thought possible. It’s the closest we could ever hope to living like a normal family and we will always be thankful.”

Acorn Stairlifts company secretary Dave Belmont added: “Linda and Ron’s commitment to Jasmine touched the hearts of everyone at Acorn and after speaking to Linda’s mum Freda, we wanted to pull all the stops out to help. It isn’t possible to offer free stairlifts for every family in need but on this occasion, a curved stairlift has brought comfort and hope to three generations of one family. Their case is exceptional and the difference the stairlift has made to their future gives immense satisfaction to our team. We’re delighted we could help.”

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