A REDDITCH firm has helped a family change their lives as part of a TV renovation project.

A team from Abacus took part in DIY SOS, which aired last night, Wednesday, November 20.

The team helped the family of 28 year-old Bromsgrove resident Karis Lane, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a baby.

Karis still lives with her mum, Karen, but now her health is deteriorating and caring for Karis is becoming much more difficult.

Jo, who is Karis’ older sister wanted to give her a new home, but the doors and corridors were too narrow for her wheelchair and there was no disability access upstairs.

Because of these difficulties, the renovation of Jo’s home was the only alternative to Karis going into a residential home.

Redditch's Abacus donated a power assisted bath for the family home.

A spokesman from the company said the DIY SOS production team sent out donation requests to companies such as Abacus.

"Before the build, senior representatives from Abacus visited Johanna’s house to assess Karis and to ascertain which bath would provide the ideal solution for her," they said.

"This would provide a safer, more enjoyable experience for Karis and allow family members to help with personal hygiene at a comfortable height, without risking back or muscle injury."

"During the construction work, the Abacus design and technical teams were in regular contact with project managers to ensure all pre-installation works were completed according to the required specification."

They added: "As a caring and ethical business, passionate about assisting individuals with disabilities, Abacus provided the Scorpio 1700 bath, planning, installation and commissioning free of charge."

Jo said: “We never imagined we would receive a specialist bath as part of the conversion, we are so lucky.

"I have tended to bathe my sister the most and being tall, 5’ 9”, my back has been getting worse having to bend and lift Karis in and out all the time.

"Trying to lift and dry her when she was wet and slippery was a nightmare. This resulted in more strip washes when sat on the toilet which were not pleasant for Karis. Now she can have a proper bath and feel completely clean.”

Karis added: “Using my Abacus bath for the first time was brilliant, I said ‘I am so happy to be having an actual bath, yeah!’ The seat will take me a bit of time to get used to as it’s different but I feel so much safer than being lifted, especially when wet. I kept crying so much on the reveal day about the bath and everything, it was so emotional.”