A YOUNG mum-of-two claims she has to bath her children in a paddling pool because she cannot get a house suitable for her disabled son’s needs.
Kirsten Lancett of Danby Close, in Yorkley, says she has battled with Two Rivers Housing Association for a ‘disabled-friendly’ house.
Two River’s says it is working with architects and health experts to find a long-term solution.
Narrow door frames mean six-year-old Mackenzie struggles to manoeuvre his wheelchair. While heavily pregnant with second son Caelan, Kirsten said she was still carrying her then five-year-old son up the stairs.
“I’m at my wits end; I really don’t know what to do. I have written to Forest MP Mark Harper for help and he says he has contacted the Forest Council,” she said.
Mackenzie, a pupil at Overmonnow Primary School in Monmouth which has specialist facilities to help children with disabilities, has numerous health problems including a rare pituitary gland condition, which is the gland that produces and helps regulate hormones.
The 23-year-old said that she moved from her previous home into her current home in January thinking that her son’s needs would be accommodated.
She said: “Two Rivers told me that both my previous and current home could be modified but it hasn’t been done. In the meantime I have had to make do and carry on. At one point I almost died when I haemorrhaged after having my second child.
“The hospital told me it was due to carrying and pushing myself to the limit to care for Mackenzie.
“My living situation is not ideal. Mackenzie’s bedroom is currently in my dining room and I am carrying him up the stairs to bath him. I don’t have a bath and Mackenzie hates the shower – he once jumped off his chair and nearly knocked himself out – so I am bathing both of my children in a paddling pool in the bathroom.
“Mackenzie is growing up and I can’t physically lift him anymore. Mackenzie will need life-long care and support.”
A spokesman for Two Rivers Housing said: “We sympathise with this family and are working with architects, health experts and the council to find a long-term solution.
“They moved to this house in December 2014 where it was not possible to install a lift as hoped. We are now waiting for the architect’s drawings of a single-storey extension that will provide
a bedroom, bathroom, wheelchair access and a ceiling hoist.
“Once the drawings are finalised the council will need to approve the funds and, if the cost exceeds its limit, additional money must be found. Planning permission will also be needed.
“Unfortunately, a project like this is complex, expensive and relies on several organisations to bring it together, but we all understand how important this is for the family and are doing everything we can to make it work for them.”