A couple who’ve been together for 70 years can stay together thanks to the donation of a free Acorn Stairlift under a pioneering charity partnership.
The donation for 95-year-old great-grandmother Joan King and her husband Ted – who celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary in October – is the latest in the five-year partnership between Acorn Stairlifts and Marie Curie, the UK’s leading charity for end-of-life care.
Under the partnership, Acorn installs up to 60 free stairlifts per year for Marie Curie patients, enabling them to receive care at home with their loved ones and also freeing up beds at Marie Curie Hospices for those in greatest need. Joan and Ted’s story is a good example of how it works.
Joan was receiving support at home from the team at her local Marie Curie Hospice, but struggled with the stairs due to limited mobility, breathlessness and poor eyesight as she awaits a cataracts operation. Her Marie Curie occupational therapist requested a stairlift under the partnership with Acorn, and it was installed at their home in Penarth, near Cardiff, within two weeks.
“It’s been absolutely wonderful” said Joan. “I’d scream if I was in hospital, but I can be at home with Ted because of this equipment.”
“It’s changed our lives,” added Ted, who also uses the stairlift to take his wife her morning cuppa. Remaining at home also meant Joan and Ted could meet their great-granddaughter together for the first time following the installation of the stairlift.
Caren Larkman-Ayre, Acorn’s UK Sales Manager, said: “Stories like Joan’s are the exact reason we joined forces with Marie Curie. We’re so pleased to be supporting the transformative work already undertaken by Marie Curie through our pioneering partnership.”
Sophie Rafter, Corporate Partnerships Officer at Marie Curie, added: “We’re thrilled to see what a difference our partnership with Acorn Stairlifts makes for people like Joan. It’s so rewarding to see the relief these stairlifts provide for their loved ones too, and we’re passionate about changing more lives as the partnership with Acorn Stairlifts continues.”