Spotlight Story: Christine Hunter
Meet Christine,
Christine Hunter, 58, is retired and lives in her home with her husband and pets. She uses her walker or wheelchair to get around, but the stairs outside of her home were problematic and inaccessible for Christine. With steep stairs, she was worried about how to remain independent while also staying cautious about falling. After recently suffering a fall, she knew she needed some improvements and modifications to her home to stay safe and maintain her peace of mind.
Mrs. Hunter first learned about the Center for Independent Living during a brief hospital stay, when her nurses communicated and recommended that she reach out to CIL for some of the home modifications that she was looking for. When she first got in touch with CIL, she was asked some simple, preliminary questions about herself and her current living situation. The main focus of the conversation was the goals that Christine had for herself. Her main goal was simply to live more independently with less fear of going through another accident or fall; it was now CIL’s mission to help Christine meet this goal. After this initial conversation, CIL sent their friendly and knowledgeable building technicians to visit her home, assess the situation, and configure a plan of action. It was ultimately decided that CIL would be able to grant Mrs. Hunter the peace of mind that she was looking for- a new ramp at her front door to replace the dangerous steps.
Life before the ramp for Christine was dependent on her husband, who helped her use the stairs on the outside of her house. She would hold on to her husband’s arm and lean on him for support. She grasped for her independence when trying to leave her own home and was ready for some change. “My husband would have to help me down and up. He would balance me and have to put my walker at the bottom of the stairs.” Christine said. Before the ramp, the concrete stairs created a risk for falling easily since they had no hand railings for her to rely on. CIL was quick to remove Mrs. Hunter’s old, wooden stairs and replace them with an aluminum ramp; which will withstand the harsh weather conditions and last a longer time.
In just one day, Christine’s new aluminum ramp was completed. She now feels more independent and in control of her own life. The ramp was added to the front of her house so she could either use her walker, wheelchair or she could walk by herself. She described the process and installation as quick and easy. “When the workers came to my house they determined they couldn’t add the ramp to the side door, so that’s why they decided on the front door,” Christine said.
With her newly gained independence, thanks to her ramp, she is now able to complete simple tasks like walking in and out of her house as well as doing her own laundry. “It’s a lot easier with the ramp now. It’s great.”