The council-installed lift at her privately-owned home in Davenport is not long enough to fit her and her chair inside, meaning she has been trapped upstairs for more than five years.“You lose a sense of time, you lose a sense of being a part of society, you’re just in here.
Shelley said her previous lift worked for years and helped her to maintain her independence. But it needed to be replaced. When a second lift was put in, it malfunctioned, so a third one was fitted, funded by a disabled facilities grant, but it turned out to be too small.Shelley, who has a number of conditions and survived a stroke, will soon need hospital treatment.
Shelley says adapting the downstairs of her home or moving to an alternative property, would both be far more expensive than installing a suitable lift.Shelley's only glimpse into the outside world is through her bedroom window.She was also supported by her late father Stuart before he passed away in November 2020, but due to being stuck upstairs, Shelley wasn’t able to attend his funeral.
He says the past five years have been “painful” for her “as she’s been denied the freedom she should have” but he’s tried to keep her “morale boosted”.Mr Mishra said: “I want to see a resolution where she’s able to use a lift, which meets her needs and she’s able to live an independent life.”