The joy of being taken up to bed by mum is now a daily reality for four years-old Cecilia Cann, thanks to an adaptable piece of technology.

The kit is an S-Max stairclimber from the stairclimber people AAT GB, fitted and accessorised with a booster seat and figure eight support harness. As a result, mum Lauren is now able to take her long-legged, tall for her age daughter who has Cerebral Palsy low muscle tone and other physical impairments, up and down stairs easily.

The family, from Lincoln, live in a two-bedroomed house; Lauren’s partner is a key worker, who travels across the country in the week, meaning that Cecilia would have to be taken downstairs before he left - sometimes at 5am- or sleep downstairs if he was away overnight. Lauren- who has back problems- also has a one year old son, so was trying to balance the needs of both dependant children primarily on her own. The design of the house meant adaptation with a stairlift or through-floor lift was not possible.

Through the local Social Services team, AAT’s regional manager Adrian Widger visited the family with appropriate PPE measures, and was able to tailor the S-Max with appropriate accessories to perfectly and safely support Cecilia, and train Lauren in its use.

AAT S-Max stairclimber is in essence a slimline wheelchair with battery powerpack, that smoothly and safely propels the passenger up and down stairs using advanced kinematics, with minimal effort from the operator. A single charge of the batteries executes up to 300 steps up even narrow or turning flights, and over all common floor surfaces. When not in use, the S-Max can be folded compactly away.

As Cecilia grows, the booster seat can be removed and the harnessing adjusted to ensure it continues to support her safely even as she grows, thereby giving a cost-efficient solution. When no longer needed by Cecilia, the stairclimber can be taken into Equipment Stores stock and re-issued with appropriate assessment and training of the future prospective users.

“Life has been difficult, I don’t have the capability to carry Cecilia on my own, it’s not safe for either of us. Cecilia desperately wanted me to take her up to bed, and would cry because I couldn’t” says Lauren,  “Now I CAN do it, she’s so happy that mummy is taking her to bed. She loves it and asks ‘more’ as soon as we get to the top of the stairs!

“The stairclimber has transformed our daily life, particularly with being confined to the house with COVID.”

AAT is the only national provider of stairclimbers and support equipment. Its nationwide team of specialists can work alongside the Occupational Therapist to assess- free of charge, and with appropriate health & safety measures- the suitability of a stairclimber for the property, the client, and their carer(s).  AAT can manage the whole process, from specification of any additional accessories if needed, supply of the equipment, and training of the carer who will operate the climber, ensuring a correct and safe solution.

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