Open the door and the first thing that hits you is the light. Instead of the small dark rooms of her old house, Joan walks into one open space with a window that runs almost the full width of the wall. The floor is a single level from the front door to the back wall — no thresholds, no steps, nothing to catch a walking frame on. Everything she uses every day is within reach without stretching.
The kitchen runs along one side, with a counter dropped a few inches so Joan can work sitting down, and deep drawers instead of high cupboards so nothing is ever out of sight. A small table by the window is where she has her coffee every morning and watches her grandchildren head off to school across the lawn. It feels like a home, not a hospital room. But wait, there's more! Check the next page…