If you or a loved one has recently become wheelchair bound, preparing your home can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. No matter what style home you live in, there are things you can do to make life easier and your home more accessible. Let’s look at some of the most basic things you can do in your home to make it more wheelchair accessible.
Outside the Home
One of the very first things homeowners think of updating when they need to make their home more accessible is the entryway. By adding a wheelchair ramp to your entryway you can make getting in and out of the house much easier for anyone in a wheelchair. If you live in a much older home, it’s possible your doorway isn’t wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. In this case, in addition to a ramp you may need to renovate and widen the door.
Inside the Home
Once inside the home there are several things that can be added or adjusted to make maneuverability easier. Making adjustments in the bathroom can feel like a big undertaking, but by replacing an existing shower with a curbless shower, a normal toilet for a raised one, or a short vanity for a taller one, you can make trips to the bathroom much more doable. Likewise, adding grab railings by the toilet and in the shower can make the bathroom much more manageable. In other areas of the house you may consider adding a chair lift, so that you or your loved one can more easily get up and down the stairs if your home is multiple levels. If you have carpet in your home you may consider replacing it for a smoother solution, such as hardwood or tile, as carpet can be more difficult to deal with in a wheelchair. And similarly to the front door, if you live in an older house, you may need to adjust the width of your doorways. If you or a loved one has recently been confined to a wheelchair, give us at Freedom Mobility a call today to talk about how we can help you. We offer in-home mobility consultations to our customers so we can help you decide what solutions will be best for your unique situation. We pride ourselves on being Maryland’s mobility specialists, and we’d love to help you!