Stair Lift for Martina Foy

Hi, my name is Tracy Hood and I am fund-raising for my good friend Martina Foy.

Martina Foy is a 47 year old wife, mother and long-time home educator, living with many conditions and illnesses. These include grand mal epilepsy (which also claimed the life of one of her children), rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and Chron’s disease. Her Chron's disease is so severe as to require chemotherapy, resulting in Martina having virtually no immune system. Martina has a heart problem and is deaf, but unable to wear hearing aids due to a mastoid bone infection. She also has dressings on her feet due to ongoing infections. Martina is in constant pain and gets very little sleep.

She has borne all these problems over the years which great fortitude, but they have taken their toll, and Martina can no longer use the stairs in her house. She has been living a bedbound existence for over 2 years, in an upstairs, 9ft x 13ft bedroom, in a, small, basic old cottage.

Martina's husband, Sean, does his best to care for her in very difficult circumstances, but the only bathroom in the house is downstairs, so Martina has to use a commode and basin for washing. She is unable to attend medical appointments and can’t get to her GP, optician or dentist, but worst of all, she is isolated from the world, unable to be a part of normal, daily, family life, and unable to sit out and take a breath of fresh air.

All that stands between Martina and a better quality of life, is a set of very narrow, steep stairs.

A stair lift would greatly improve the quality of Martina’s life, but this is proving very difficult to get.

The occupational therapist from the grants department made a report to apply for a grant, but there always seems to be some barrier to getting approval, whether it be Martina’s age, or paper work they can’t provide. The family lives on very little income as Martina’s husband cares, not only for her, but also one of their daughters, who has Autism and epilepsy. The grant has been refused 3 times, yet if Martina were 66 years old, grant approval wouldn’t be a problem. The type of stair-lift Martina needs is expensive due to a turn in their stairs, and the requirement for a special harness due to Martina's epilepsy. Their house is too small for Martina to move downstairs.

So please, make a donation, no matter how small, and let’s get Martina out of her bedroom, and back downstairs with her family, access to a bathroom, and access to medical appointments.