How things turn your life around…

Jamie Thompson was busy living ‘normal life’ as a property developer with a young family when his life changed forever. His sudden lack of fine motor skills whilst working on site was not due to the cold weather; it was the onset of Motor Neurone Disease.

Now, numerous adaptations to the family home have made life more manageable, including the installation of a Closomat Lima Lifter height-adjustable wash & dry (automatic bidet) toilet.

“It has proved invaluable in making what was becoming an incredibly difficult task simple again, and allowed me to retain my dignity and independence,” he says. “Until something like my illness happens, you don’t appreciate how fragile you actually are. I hadn’t seen a doctor in 25 years until this happened; It has completely turned my life around.

“The Closomat is a major benefit. I think it’s brilliant, it’s fab, I can’t say how much easier life is now, having a toilet that washes, dries, and rises, ” he says. “Using our conventional WC was putting a lot of strain on us, as sometimes I was forced to seek my partner’s assistance.

The Closomat Lima Lifter forms part of a complete re-vamp of the family bathroom into an accessible wetroom, plus the installation of a lift inside and out, riser recliner chair, and level access French windows, to enable Jamie to move around the house on his own as much as possible, all covered under a Disabled `Facilities Grant.

“The riser recliner helps, but I do feel like I could tip off. There was originally a suggestion to go for a similar piece of technology over the toilet, but I pushed for the Lima Lifter because I didn’t want that feeling of instability. I wanted to feel in control. I do with the Closomat: it rises smoothly, and remains level.”

Looking like- and capable of being used as a conventional WC- Closomat’s Lima Lifter can be lowered and raised, simply by activating the controls in the support arm on either side of the unit. Controls can be specified in either left or right support arm, depending on the main user’s preference.

Using the feature, the toilet can be adjusted so the seat is as low as 430mm (17”) from the floor, or raised as high as 730mm (29”). It can be lowered and raised every time it is used, or stay set at the user’s optimum, or preferred, height. It can be lowered or raised to assist transfer, and adjusted to the optimum height for user comfort and stability during use.

The support arms themselves are hinged, so can be folded up out of the way, or remain in position, to assist transfer as required, and set at 90degrees to the wall to enhance user’s feeling of stability during use.

Once at the preferred height, the toilet is used in the normal way, or, the built-in douching and drying process started: pressure on the flush control pad whilst seated begins simultaneous flushing and warm water douching, followed by warm air drying.
The Lima Lifter compliments Closomat’s brand-leading, floor-mounted Palma Vita wash & dry toilet, the Lima Vita wall-hung unit, and the company’s range of assistive technology to optimise hygiene, independence and dignity in intimate care.

Family-owned, Closomat is the longest-established provider of wash & dry toilets in the UK, and the only one that manufactures in Britain. It is also unique in its provision, in-house, of design advice, supply, installation, commissioning and after-sales service & maintenance. Details of the Closomat’s assistive toilet care offerings, including ‘how it works’ videos etc, plus further case studies from real-life users, can be found on Closomat’s website www.clos-o-mat.com.