James was in his early forties when he first went to the doctor complaining of tingling in his legs. Unfortunately, a protracted mis-diagnosis left his neurosarcoidosis irreversible by the time it was confirmed. This is a rare neurological condition where granulomas cause inflammation in the organs and different parts of the body, often affecting the lungs but also skin, eyes, joints, and nervous system.

However, it is manageable with the right care but from 2012 James had been in a wheelchair with no control below his ribcage and very little vision. James and his wife, Anne, became a great team and James was able to stay at home, latterly using an electric wheelchair.

Solicitors, Irwin Mitchell, advised the couple to move to a larger rented accommodation to improve accessibility and allow for a higher level of care. Property finder, David Lambert of ARCD Ltd suggested an Internal Standard WashPod as a disabled wetroom solution while their claim progressed which gave greater choice to the number of properties that were suitable for James to rent.

“The WashPod was fabulous as I hadn’t imagined being able to find a rented property anywhere with a large enough wetroom for James” said Anne. “But the Landlords were perfectly happy as we didn’t have to do any adaptations. Three wonderful guys from Dignity Access came to install it and it was done and dusted in a day”.

James needed two carers to assist him in the shower but the Internal Standard was large enough to accommodate them, along with his electric wheelchair and shower chair.

“His carers were amazed by the WashPod and said that they had never seen the like” said Anne. “They even said it was better than most of the permanent bathrooms that they see”.

Despite expecting a normal longevity, a bout of cellulitis and hospital treatment led to complications and James died suddenly in April.

The WashPod was removed and the property made good in just half a day.

“I would definitely recommend the WashPod. It’s particularly beneficial in situations where life expectancy is limited as it allows people to stay at home, which was always really important to James” said Anne.