AN ELEVATOR OPENS DOORS

“When your own home becomes a challenge to live in, that’s the time to take control and do what it takes to make it work,” said Polly Valentin. “I just put in an elevator in my home that literally has opened doors to me that have been closed for so long. I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner.”

Valentin, a thirty-something, married mother of four children from three to 15 years old, lives in a modest two-story ranch house in eastern Long Island and uses a wheelchair to get around. Confined to the downstairs space where she moved her bedroom after losing mobility with the progression of multiple sclerosis, she was unable to tuck in her kids, grab a sweater when they’re running out the door—all the little things mothers do—unless her husband was home to carry her up the stairs.

“I became a burden so fast in my own home, I had to swallow my pride and get serious about finding a mobility product to get me independent again,” she said.

Valentin soon learned that there is help available and places to go, but they are difficult to find and financing was needed, too. Her research started with an agency in Washington D.C. and her town’s human services office. She got a list of elevator companies from Washington and she concentrated on calling those on Long Island.

Ruling out a stair glide after learning she would be able to use it only for a few years as her disability progressed, Valentin knew she needed an elevator. She consulted with Wally Teich, president of All-Island Elevator Co., in Hampton Bays, who advised that there was no need for an elevator with extensive construction for a shaft and pit, and a residential free-standing elevator would do.

It is a Telecab that goes between floors, opens up floor space, requires much less construction and time to install, and is safe for children and easy to operate, especially for Valentin who is visually impaired.

Teich also recommended contractors, plumbers and electricians in her area who were experienced in lift installation and who were compassionate about their clients needs.

Of modest means, Valentin was resourceful about financing solutions. She obtained letters from the Multiple Sclerosis Society stating that the elevator was a medical necessity. Through a friend at Riverhead Building Supply she learned that the company donates construction material to people who are and in need.
Her biggest find was Domestic Bank of Rhode Island, which offered a Title 1 loan subsidized through H.U.D. It has no closing costs, is spread over a 20 year payback time, has low interest and comes through in 10 days with minimal paperwork. The loan is tax deductible with a letter of medical necessity and the elevator is a 100 percent tax write-off.

“My little ones call our elevator the “alligator”, said Valentin.
“I call it my life-saver.”

To learn more from Valentin call her, 631 723-2954.