I've forgotten how to stairs!

[Silvergilt]

Or this is how I'm told the kids turn things into verbs these days...I'm in UsHaus now, waiting for the ridiculously loyal friends the Dutchman roped into moving me on Easter Sunday to come with the moving van. As my bed isn't here I had to sleep in Dutchman's old small bed - honestly I don't know how I'm able to move today, his mattress is a dire saggy affair and I'm sure the springs tried to impale my spleen in the night.

That meant having to face my old adversary: stairs. I haven't had to do stairs in such a wide hallway in a while. Normally I go down sideways and lean my back against the wall while clinging to the handle grip for dear life, but this house isn't set up like that - there's too much space between the handle and the wall, and I actually looked down at the stairs with a weird sense of vertigo and panic. I haven't needed to try and tackle stairs for seven years now, because my last failed attempts at stairs ended up with me a crumpled heap at the bottom.

I managed to make it down all right, but I'm under strict instructions not to try them again on my own (last night was necessity - the house itself is being set up so everything I need is on ground floor). But my son's room is on the first floor and I will probably have to tackle it again. Anyone got any advice? We rent so a stair lift is out of the question. Sidestep? Rappell line? A sledge?

In the meantime, I'm here at home after Dutchman promised I would make one of loyal friends a tray of cinnamon rolls (a speciality of mine). However all his supplies are out of date - I gave it a try, but they ended up being swirly paperweights so I choked one down with coffee (because Dutchman hasn't done any shopping either and there's no food ...yeah, this is a thing he does) and I'll wait until they get back.

Ah, domestic bliss

[PMRpro]

I don't know how mobile you are - when I had a full length plaster for a broken leg I got down 2 steps, lowered myself backwards to sit down and went down one step at a time on my bum. I also went up in reverse mode.

Would crutches or a walker help?

This

youtube.com/watch?v=tYSzQyA...(Not working as expected?)

shows someone with one non-weightbearing leg doing stairs with a walker.

[Silvergilt in reply to PMRpro]

That's a clever trick with the walker but as the lady says, it doesn't look easy at all to do. My joints are really bad and that much pressure on my wrists I would end up on my knees or going backwards. I have considered just 'booty-scooting' if need be, provided I can stand up and turn around at the top of the stairs without falling down. The Dutchman would faint in coils at the perceived indignity of it but needs must. Bless his cotton socks, he still believes the world should be 100% accessible. Well, he's right but he hasn't grasped how many people can't be bothered to make it happen yet.

[PMRpro in reply to Silvergilt]

I was just chucking it in for consideration

"he still believes the world should be 100% accessible" - houses with stairs are immediately non-accessible for many. I love my flat here - 2nd floor but a lift so I have the choice. I had a period where I couldn't manage anything much in the UK having moved to a house with what felt like vertical stairs and having hip bursitis. I managed to crawl here - and after a bit of rather slow rearrangement of ski gear was actually able to go skiing. Just because I didn't have to do stairs at all. It truly made that much difference to how far I could walk!

[PMRpro in reply to Silvergilt]

Is the house private rental or housing association? As a private landlord i would not object to a stair lift being fitted in the house we let (not a need/option in the other flat) - or a second handrail. All I would ask at the end was it was made good.

If it is council or housing association they may help with the cost.

[Silvergilt in reply to PMRpro]

the last house I had was council housing - bungalow with adapted bathroom, which was great but very very remote, hence my move. This is private...and unfortunately in my experience in the UK landlords aren't so generous, even if we managed to pay for it out of pocket. We looked at houses and when I struggled up the stairs of one, we were no longer considered for the house as I was a 'health and safety risk' - can't argue with it, I suppose but there you are. The letting market in the UK is astonishingly difficult. We searched for nearly eight months before getting this place as we had so many negatives against us; pets, kids, only Dutchman with a decent job, disability. Nightmare!

Maybe if we are here for a while and take good care of the place, we might be able to make an adaptation or two, but it will take a bit of goodwill first and sounding out the landlord.

[PMRpro in reply to Silvergilt]

No - I'm well aware there aren't many landlords like us!

[Silvergilt in reply to PMRpro]

Can you be our landlords next? you'd be ace!

[PMRpro in reply to Silvergilt]

We only do the frozen north...

[Silvergilt in reply to PMRpro]

Dutchman and I have considered going to Scotland in a few years but who knows! I'd have to learn to garden up there. New challenge.

[PMRpro in reply to Silvergilt]

Unfortunately the flat our daughter lives in in Scotland is an upper one - the stairs come before you get to the front door

[weathervane]

Im like you PMR , with hip bursitus i find going up stairs painful and the least painful way is to lean hands on stairs and go up like a dog😀😀 I would advise silvergilt to maybe look into getting referred to the occupational therapist for guidance xx

[PMRpro in reply to weathervane]

Yup - I went up stairs on hands and knees for ages! And stomped down like a toddler.

And yes - you are absolutely right - get the professionals in!

[Lupiknits]

I have done the hands and knees going up routine, and the bum bumps on the way down. No real idea of a solution, but I'm hoping you manage something x

[LouLamb]

I do downstairs one leg at a time . I step on one step with both legs . I go on my left foot first then right and so on . It takes a long time but I get there