IBIS Wheelchair to Car Access helps Roger and Helen Allen keep travelling after stroke

After a life-changing medical episode, Roger Allen started planning wife Helen’s funeral. Now, Aussie technology is helping keep the western Sydney couple’s passion for travel alive.

Roger Allen and his wife, Helen, found a way to still enjoy life after a stroke left the latter in a wheelchair. Pictures: Supplied

Western Sydney couple Roger Allen and his wife, Helen, were enjoying their comfortable life when a single stroke changed it forever.

It was September 1, 2021, and the country was still battling the Covid-19 pandemic, but Mrs Allen’s sudden hemorrhagic stroke became the couple’s focus.

“We travelled a lot, so when the stroke first occurred, that was pretty devastating,” Mr Allen, 77, told this masthead.

“It happened in the middle of Covid, and to have a loved one whisked away by an ambulance and into an intensive care unit where you’re not allowed to drive outside of your postcode … the condition she was in, I was planning a funeral. It was potentially terminal.

Helen Allen with psychiatric assistance dog Pippa. Picture: Supplied

“As it turned out, it wasn’t terminal. The stroke caused her to be paralysed down the right-hand side and she’s in 24/7 care.

“So to do that, she became a resident of an aged care facility here in Castle Hill.”

Roger Allen often sees his wife, Helen, three to four times a day at a 24/7 care home. Picture: Supplied

Prior to the stroke, the couple, married for 50 years, often travelled and wanted to continue living ordinary lives as best as they could.

“So we decided we wanted to live a normal life, albeit somewhat different to everybody else’s,” Mr Allen said.

“And a part of our normal life is to try and get out and about, see family and do things. And to do that, I required transportation.”

Mr Allen struggled to find that mode of transportation, with wheelchair-accessible cars costing up to $100,000.

Para Mobility is an Australian-owned business that helps give people in wheelchairs easier access to cars. Picture: Supplied

But a friend ultimately recommended an Australian-made device that’s helped keep their travel bug alive and well.

“The IBIS Wheelchair to Car Access is convenient, as if can fit to my car and is available any time I wanted to use it,” he said.

Mr Allen got in touch with ParaMobility, a registered National Disability Insurance Scheme provider and, after testing it out, knew it was exactly he and Mrs Allen, 80, needed.

The device lifts a person from their wheelchair and into the front seat of a car, making the transfer easy and simple.

“I’m able to take Helen to and from appointments at any time,” Mr Allen, a former dog trainer, said.

“We frequently go out to a lunch off site. We go to a couple of favourite spots. I see her at least three to four times a day.

“We’ve been together for 50 years and she did the heavy lifting while I was doing my career.

“So it’s my time to do the heavy lifting now.”