A woman in Midlothian says she feels 'trapped' in her flat - unable to get down the stairs without help.
Laura Wilson, 34, has been using a wheelchair full-time since November after a neurological condition impacted her mobility. She was diagnosed with fixed dystonia, and Functional Neurologic Disorders (FND) in June 2021 - affecting her right leg, speech, and spreading to her left side by November.
While she lives in a ground floor council flat in Penicuik, there are four large steps to the front door that she is unable get up or down in her chair without help from her family who live nearby. Once in her flat, the corridors are too narrow for her chair and she struggles to move around.
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At her wit's end, Laura posted a video online, filmed by her sister, to show what she has to go through everyday to just leave her house. In the video, she awkwardly has to climb out of her chair and crawl down the stairs after maneuvering her chair through the narrow doorway of the flat.
Speaking exclusively to Edinburgh Live, Laura said: "It's embarrassing! It's bad enough having to crawl in and out your property when no one sees you but when you do put yourself out there or people are around, they see how life actually is for me.
"I moved in here last April and it was meant to be temporary accommodation. At that point, it was just my right side that wasn't working properly and I could still get about on crutches and a walker. I managed around the house okay. But in June this year, my health took a turn and I was advised not to use my crutches outdoors because the dystonia was set to my right foot dragged behind me.
"I updated the council on this and I requested a ramp so that I could get in and out independently but they said no because they can't make any changes to temporary accommodation. Since then I haven't really been able to get in or out without somebody there. Up until November, I was using my crutches to get down the stairs and then into the chair.
"But in November I lost control of my left side too and my leg buckles under me. I can't put any weight on both legs now and I need to use my wheelchair indoors too."
She explained: "My tenancy support officer and Housing Association officer have been so great, and my family have too, my brother is stronger so he can help lift my chair if he's around. But I know I'm not the only person in this situation, and no one should be going through this.
"I just feel like having a house that you can live in but have the ability to come and go as you please safely - I don't think that's too much to ask. It's a basic human right, I should be able to live in it - not just tolerate it. I should be able to move about in my own flat, it's just not a way to live."
She added: "Since November I've been getting in contact with the council and it's just so difficult. They don't reply or they take so long to get back to me. I was trying to phone, I wasn't getting answered. It was so frustrating. My tenancy support officer visits and she's witnessed first hand how my health has declined and how unsuitable this property is. She spent hours trying to get hold of anyone who would listen...and still nothing's changed.
"My neighbour came round last week and told me that her son, who is able bodied, had been offered a house that was designed to support wheelchair users. I know there's hardly any houses, and I most certainly don't blame him for taking it, he needs somewhere to live but it's just not fair that the council offered it to him first when there are people who use wheelchairs who would need it. And I don't even mean just me, because I'm probably not the only one stuck in this situation."
Laura is on the waiting list for permanent accomodation but it has to be suitable for a wheelchair user. This means the pavement should be level and the entrance should be floor level or with a ramp and the kitchen sits at a lower, or with the option to lower it.
The last property she was offered was part of a new development in the Roslin area, but while she was happy with it, Laura explained that her tenancy support officer and Housing Association officer advised her not to. She says they warned her that since it was a new build there were restrictions on how many changes could be made inside - and it would not be any better than her current home.
A Midlothian Council spokesman said: “We’re aware Ms Wilson’s medical needs have changed since she accepted her current accommodation and appreciate it must be very stressful for her to no longer be able to move around the flat or get out as before.
"We’ve assured her we are working hard to find her accommodation adapted to her needs just as soon as possible. We’re hopeful we may be able to offer her one within the next week or so.”
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