The impossible dream (made possible)

For Trudy* moving into a brand new Bromford home really was a springboard to better things. Here the 46-year-old from Gloucester – who has been suffering with multiple sclerosis (MS) for the past eight years – blogs for us about her new found independence after moving to a home which completely meets her needs…

Living with MS is full of ups and downs. It’s manageable at the moment and I’m feeling good about life but about eight weeks ago I had a big relapse and when this happens the pain is dreadful – so severe that I have to take morphine and I can’t even walk so I have to have someone come in and do everything for me.

I’ve lived with this condition for the past eight years and before I moved here in June 2015, I was living in a two-bed privately rented house where the landlord refused to make any adaptations to help me. It made day-to-day life extremely stressful and even basic things like going to the toilet was a real struggle.

Getting up and down the stairs was definitely my biggest problem. My coordinator and occupational therapist put into place an agreement that social services were going to pay for grab rails and stair lifts but the landlord was adamant that no adaptations were to be made. He had invested a lot of money into the home so I can understand why he didn’t want holes drilled into the walls all over the place but it did make things a lot more difficult for me.

I was sat on the housing list for an awfully long time and to be honest it seemed like an impossible dream moving to a place like this. When the bungalow first came up there were around 175 bids on it and I was initially told it was gone. Then a couple of weeks later Becky White, who is now my housing manager, called me to say it had come back onto the market and would I like it?

World of difference

The feeling of emotion was quite indescribable. It’s fully adapted to my needs – it has low level light switches, full disabled access and obviously, being a bungalow, it has no stairs. I’ve also got a lovely big front garden but because of my condition I struggle to maintain it and felt like I was letting the community down. I spoke to Bromford and they’ve arranged for the lawn to be turned into an attractive gravelled area instead. This in itself has really given me confidence that my home will be in keeping with the rest of the estate and my brother is able to come up from London every so often to mow the back lawn.

I’m not able to work at the moment but previously I’ve been a nurse auxiliary for more than 20 years, caring for elderly people with conditions like dementia. In that career I learned just how much having that support and a positive change in your circumstances can have a tremendous impact on your day-to-day wellbeing.

And that’s exactly how I feel about my new home – I just feel like I’ve won the lottery and I never expected to be offered such a super property that I can now call mine forever. When you’ve got an illness like MS just knowing there are people out there who want to help you get on in life makes the world of difference.

Are you looking for a home to call your own? Start your search today.

*name changed to protect identity