DH has arthritis of the spine and somehow that has pinched a nerve. He's using his walker more & more.

When going downstairs, just as he got the the floor, his leading leg gave way. He would have fallen if the wall hadn't jumped out to catch him. Scared him just a bit - scared me, too.

Now I'm going to look into stair lifts. If anyone could please share any information about these companies I'd appreciate it.

I was at a Bed and Breakfast in northern Indiana and they have a chair lift.

You could contact them and find out where they got theirs from.

here is their link to website

http://www.thatprettyplace.com/

My brother-in-law has an acorn and it works very well. He has had it for a few years and no problems. Hope this helps.

My Dad had one put in for my Mom many years ago and it still works well. He had a second one put in this year after a stroke and uses that one dayly. The first one was to go down cellar to the Washer and Dryer. The new one goes upstairs to the second floor where his office is. I don't know the brand name, but it was a national company. Good luck.

We want to get one of these for my mil, although she doesn't want it quite yet. My dh did some calling, and they sound pretty good.

Personally, having recently fallen on a hiking path and suffered the relatively minor consequences of that, I would definitely get a stair lift for the situation you describe. It's that old ounce of prevention......

p.s. I should add that I've fallen several times while walking in the last few years; the most recent one was just the worst. That decided me to start working on my balance and strength. Got a Wii and would recommend that for working on balance! Some of the other Wii games seem to be strengthening my legs too. I think that is an all-around great purchase for people getting up in years, although you do have to actually *use* it regularly to benefit. (We know several couples who have one but don't use it.)

Speaking of the Wii, I should get mine out from under the entertainment cabinet and start again. It really does help with strength and balance.

We have a stair lift in our house, it is an Acorn. If you want the telephone number, PM me and I will give it to you.

My mother had one installed finally and it was a godsend. Don't know the name but it was great for her and everyone that needed to carry anything heavy up or down stairs.

I have one going down to my sewing room. I was having it redone last fall, and since we were having a wall moved by the stairs and outlets and stuff moved, I thought it might be a good time to put one in. I found one on CL for $800, quite a steal, only 2 years old,looks like new, rated for 400 lbs. It doesn't get used much, but it does get used and I'm glad that I had it put in.

I do not know the name of a company that does chairlifts but I do know my brother has one. He suffered a spinal cord injury in a farming accident (a big round bale of hay weighing a ton fell on him) 5 years ago. His spinal cord was not severed and he has regained partial use of his legs. The lift enables him and my SIL to still live in their 2-story farmhouse. We (he) are also looking into getting one for my dad (82) who is just not as steady on his feet as he used to be. If your husband is a veteran, you might check with your VA office....they may be able to help pay for the lift and also direct you to a reputable company.