Challenges
Creating an
accessible kitchen
by Shellie Terry Benson
As a registered nurse who cared for open-heart surgery
patients, Betty Steverson, 55, of
Douglas, Ga., knows the value
of being organized—at work
and at home. She put in busy
12-hour days before she became
ill in October 2009. “My illness
onset was rapid and progressive,”
she said. “My life turned 180
degrees.”
Once she was finally
diagnosed with MS in March
2011, Betty and her husband
For many of us, the kitchen is a hub of activity,
a place where we all converge many times a
day. Even little adjustments can make a huge
difference—physically and emotionally.
decided to move to a smaller
home. To further adjust to
Betty’s rapidly decreasing
mobility, the Steversons
focused on rearranging the
busiest room in their home:
the kitchen.
“As our funds are sorely
limited, most of our
improvements have been of the
face-lift type, keeping in mind my
progressive disability,” Betty said.
“Clean pots are on the
stove. A ceramic urn filled
with utensils is ever ready
beside the stove,” she said.
“A basket of oven mitts and
towels sits near the sink. A roll
of paper towels and a canister
of Lysol wipes are underneath
the sink.”
“Keeping everything within
reach is key,” Betty explained.
“When my husband puts away
the dishes or groceries, he places
them on the bottom shelves
where I can get to them easily.
The upper shelves are reserved
for his sports bottles and protein
supplements.”
To keep Betty from getting
too hot and possibly aggravating
her symptoms, the Steversons
installed a $25 mister on a
small, covered back porch
outside the kitchen door. “It
can lower the temperature by
as much as 20 degrees on my
porch,” Betty said.
