By: Cheryl Angelelli, PLY
After 16 years in our beloved home, my husband and I recently decided it was time to downsize. Thus began the painstaking process of finding a new home and moving. It had been almost two decades since we last house hunted, and I was quickly reminded that homes are not designed for people with disabilities in mind.
A custom-built home was not in our price range, so after months of searching, we found a newer home with an open concept. However, because I am a C6, incomplete quadriplegic, the home listed as “move-in ready” was not ready to accommodate my needs.
The first hurdle: I couldn’t even get into the house independently. There were two steps from the garage into the home. In our previous home we had a budget-friendly chair lift for the staircase between the garage and the home; however, as I am getting older and my mobility is changing, it was safer to install a vertical platform lift this time. The cost was nearly $20k and not covered by insurance. However, through the State of Michigan, Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) can assist with modifications for people with disabilities who need a modification that will allow them to seek or maintain employment. So thankfully, since I work full-time, MRS paid for this modification in full. Every state has vocational rehab services, so if you have a modification you need to allow you to work, they are a great resource and can help absorb the financial burden of costly modifications. Contact them before purchasing any adaptive equipment to make sure you meet eligibility requirements.
Our next big project, which we were lucky to complete days before moving in, was removing the thick, plush carpet. As a wheelchair user, carpet is the bane of my existence. Not only is it hard for me to push my chair over it, but it’s hard to keep clean with dirty wheels and three dogs. Luckily, most of the house already had hardwood flooring, so we only had to install the same floor in the living room, office, and master bedroom.
Next on our list was the master bath remodel. I have to admit, my guilty pleasure is watching home renovation TV shows. I absolutely love them, but in real life, a home demo project is not neatly wrapped up in an hour. For one month, I had contractors in my house every day, all day, and nonstop dust from plaster and drywall. The bathroom was large, but the layout did not work for me. For example, in most new homes, you will find a water closet, which is a small room or enclosure in the bathroom that contains the toilet. Even though I am in a manual 15 x 15 wheelchair, the door to get in the water closet and access the toilet was too tight. We had to remove the door and turn the full wall into a half wall so that I could come in on an angle and do a stand-pivot transfer to the toilet. Also in the master bathroom was a giant spa tub. Not only could I not get into it, but it was a giant waste of space. So I had them remove the tub and build me a roll under vanity where I can do my hair and makeup. Because I can do a stand pivot transfer, additional modifications in the bathroom that were nominal cost included adding a shower chair to the glass-enclosed shower and handrails on either side of the toilet.
The master bathroom suite also had a large walk-in closet, but all the clothing rods were too high. I had a carpenter come in to do a custom layout for me, where I added rows of lower rods and lots of shelves. I find shelves easier to manage and they’re great for additional storage. If hiring a carpenter is not in your budget, many home improvement stores have prefabricated closet solutions for hanging clothes and adding shelves and drawers. And even cheaper, you can get a top clothing rod that has a handle you can pull down to seating height for under $125 on Amazon, or a retractable hook/pole to reach the top clothing rack for $9 on Amazon.
You don’t have to be a DIY expert or break the bank to make impactful changes. One low-cost modification we made in our home was changing the door handles. All the doors in our new home had turn knobs, which require more effort and two hands for me to open since I am a quadriplegic. We simply swapped out the knobs for lever handles, and I can now open doors with one hand. Another low-cost modification we made is lighting. With my hand dexterity, turning lamps on and off is difficult. We paired our Alexa to turn lamps on and off with voice commands.
The home did come with a few features that I was really excited about: remote-controlled blinds on all the windows, a front-loading washer and dryer, and a microwave drawer in the kitchen that is totally awesome and a space saver. I’m sure the original homeowners installed these for convenience, but for me they provide independence to do everyday tasks most take for granted.
I am also obsessed with storage baskets. I have decorative, coordinated storage baskets everywhere from my mudroom to my pantry to my closet. They are a great way to keep things organized and look great too. One of my favorites is a rolling storage unit I keep in my master bath. As a person with a spinal cord injury, I have a lot of medical supplies, especially for bowel and bladder management. For example, I get a 90-day, auto-ship supply of my Coloplast SpeediCath® Compact female catheters. Even though they are tiny, a 90-day supply of boxes takes up a lot of space. I found a fabric tiered storage unit on wheels for under $50 to keep all my medical supplies neatly and discreetly organized.
Just like every home is unique, so too are everyone’s disability and accessibility needs. But everyone deserves to live in a space where they feel safe and can thrive. New Horizon’s website has a wealth of information on home modifications, as well as how to find an accessible home or an ADA contractor at www.new-horizons.org/houcat.html Be sure to also check out their page where you can search state-by-state for funding resources and assistance to make your home accessible. www.new-horizons.org/houmod.html#States
