Portable lifts boon to children with challenges, caregivers
Karen Hall, journalist for the Windsor Star
Published: Saturday, July 12, 2008
When Colin Stanczak was younger, it was easy for one of his parents to tuck him into bed or put him in the tub.
Now that he's 16, two hands just aren't enough.
"Colin is too big for one person to carry," says his mom Linda, who realized a few years ago that she and her husband Ray would have to carefully co-ordinate their at-home schedules.
"We reached a point where neither my husband nor I could be alone and care for his needs," she says. "We had to do a two-person lift."
Colin has cerebral palsy, and since the family installed a ceiling track lift in their home, it's made life easier for everybody.
"First and foremost, it allows the user to do everyday things," says Linda. "But it also allows for other things like leisure activities and therapy."
Colin loves to swim, for instance, and the family might put a boom over the pool and use a portable lift for quicker, one-person transfers.
KEEPING CAREGIVERS SAFE, TOO
The benefits of these devices go beyond those who have a mobility impairment. "Caregivers also have to be safe," says Cindy Fuerth, a custom seating and mobility consultant.
As a partner in Motion Specialties in Windsor, she's seen the back strain and injuries that can occur.
Her company installed the BHM (Because Health Matters) V4 ceiling track lift in Colin's bedroom and bathroom.
That's made it possible for just one person to assist him as he goes from his wheelchair to the bed and bath.
Motion Specialities has been doing more and more of these installations, in both private and group homes throughout the area.
"I've been in the business for 23 years," says Cindy. "The first couple of years I installed maybe one or two tracks. Now, I'm installing them every single week."
That's because people want to stay in their own homes, and improved technology makes it possible and affordable.
The need for assisted devices will continue to increase.
First, our population is aging and second, children with challenges are living with their families or in small group homes.
Nobody wants to be in an institutional setting, says Fuerth, who customizes the lifts for the mobility needs of each client.
Firefighter George Copeland, for instance, had a custom lift and power track put into his new home by Motion Specialties during the Build for George two weeks ago.
The Stanczaks' insurer paid for the system, and most plans offer some form of coverage. The lift itself usually costs between $2,500 and $3,500.
Because the motor is portable, it can go anywhere you choose to put additional tracking, which is the least expensive investment.
While the new system has obviously been helpful, the family anticipated what their needs would be early on and designed their Tecumseh home to accommodate both Colin's wheelchair and the walker used by their 16-year-old daughter Kirby, who also has cerebral palsy.
The hallways and door frames are all wider than in standard homes. The floors are laminate and there are no right angles to get in the way.
Colin can get into his bath seat in his bedroom, then roll across the hall, into the bathroom and straight into the shower.
A separate powder room is designed to make entry a snap.
When the therapy tub was installed, Linda had the contractor recess a section of the tiled front so that caregivers and the wheelchair could get in as close as possible.
For Cindy, being able to find the right solution is rewarding.
"We're locally owned, living here and supporting our community," she says of Motion Specialties, one of 23 outlets in Ontario.
"We really care about the people who live here and want to do the best we can."
For Colin and his family, she did.
© The Windsor Star 2008