Discovering what I love about my new home within a home

Now that I’ve been living in my new house for a month, I better understand what I love about it.

In my last house, where we’d lived since I was 13, I had my own home within the home, which included my bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and medical supply room. These rooms were designed to meet all my SMA needs while my mom had her own rooms on the other side of the house. Having my own “bachelor pad” in that house was pretty cool.

My new family home has a bachelor pad, too, with the same rooms listed above — freshly updated and created by renovating a garage. I have a whole new perspective with this change. My previous bachelor space was great for a growing boy while my new one, for a 42-year-old-man, feels more mature.

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Loving my new vertical platform lift

At left, Ari is in the first level of his new home. At right, he’s on his vertical platform lift, which has raised him a level. (Courtesy of Ari Anderson)

One feature that gives my space a more mature feel is its vertical platform lift (VPL), which serves as my private elevator. By being able to raise and lower myself a level, the VPL places new independence in my hands, a kind of self-reliance I never had growing up. I wrote that I was getting a VPL months before we moved in, but it didn’t sink in until recently how special it’d be.

Until the past month, I’ve always lived in a one-level home. When we decided to move into this new, multilevel house, we needed to find a way for me and my wheelchair to adapt and go up a level independently.

The adaptation process can be fun if you’re open to it, and I’ve been having a blast learning to use my vertical platform lift. I’ve been practicing driving onto the platform and hitting the up or down button with a small apparatus sticking out from my chair. I have to hit the buttons at just the right angle.

I never realized the thrill I’d get by making myself go up or down a level by myself! After I raise up, I activate a voice clip I added to my phone; it tells Alexa, my voice assistant, to open the door to the next level of the house.

When the door opens, I feel another boost to my confidence. I feel I can accomplish anything with the right technology, and the people who figure out how I can do that are essential in making my faith in my independent dreams come true.

I’ve only been using the VPL for a few weeks, so there are a few bugs to work out. Sometimes I have trouble getting my chair to hit the up or down button at the right angle.

I’m sure that with a little bit more time, we’ll figure everything out. If I’m still having trouble hitting the up or down consistently, we can always fit a bigger or wider apparatus on my chair to hit the buttons with. That may not be necessary since more and more frequently, I’ve been able to hit the button with my chair correctly.

Loving the style of my new living space

Ari sits in front of the first beach decoration of his new “bachelor pad.” (Courtesy of Ari Anderson)

Not only does having my own elevator make my bachelor pad feel my own, but it makes me also feel like I’m living in a big-city apartment. We live in the suburbs, but my mom and I agree that my pad has an industrial look to it that seems right out of New York or Chicago.

One feature that gives it that look is the dark blue paint against the many tones of white and gray throughout my space. The metal rods hanging from the ceiling, which support the doors to my medical supply closet, also contribute to the look.

I like the style; I just need to give it a softer touch. It’s already more practical than what I had before. I’ve written that my new bachelor pad is much more open, with fewer doors and walls between my bedroom and kitchen. That allows me to drive my chair around easier, which I love.

Even though I have fewer walls between rooms, I don’t have less wall space — which is a golden opportunity to add plenty of my own decorations. My last bachelor pad had a beach theme. I’m going to continue this theme with mostly new decorations, as well as more dark blue paint.

I’ve already started decorating with the beach theme, though!

One by one, I’m finding things that I love about my new space. I can’t imagine how much I’ll love it a year from now. I’ll give you all the details as I soar to find out everything that’s possible in my new bachelor pad!

Note: SMA News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of SMA News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to spinal muscular atrophy.