Norman and Sue Nash's
Casa de Sueno
villa
on
Spain's Costa Blanca is totally accessible - it has to be as
Norman is a T1/2 paraplegic. There are no steps anywhere in the house
and only three in one part of the garden, but these can be bypassed via
a ramp. The doorways are all 900mm wide but with the door open it is
safer to say that there is an 860mm clearance.
Everywhere inside the house is accessible to a wheelchair. The master
bedroom suite is very spacious and has a kingsize bed. There is room (at
least 1.2m) on either side of the bed, which can be raised for those who
need it. In addition, there are electric sockets, light and ceiling fan
controls all at the side of the bed. The room dimensions are 4.46m x
4.21m and there is a door leading from the bedroom to the terrace and
garden.
The en suite bathroom measures 3.44m x 3.4m. There is a wheel-in shower
and a shower chair is provided. The shower can be hand held or used from
one of two wall-mounted brackets at different heights. There is a large
bath with grab railson either side and a wide ledge for end
entry. The bath also has a hand held shower attachment over. The toilet
is raised (height 500mm) with a grab rail beside it for a right lateral
transfer. The sink height is 760mm which is high enough to move a
wheelchair under.
The family bathroom is also accessible but a shower chair would have to
be used over the toilet as there is no grab rail.
The garden is totally accessible with wide pathways and raised
flowerbeds. The pool has a hydraulic sling hoist.
A car can be driven to within about 4-5m of the doorway. There is a good
security system, which provides an emergency call system with and an
English speaking service.