Oh brother! Christian hurt himself bad

[snowywhite89]

We have bought two baby gates to put at the head and the foot of the stairs, so he will no longer have free access. We cannot take a chance on this happening again.

I don't see how baby gates will solve the problem. He is an adult and could try to step over one or he could have the strength to move the gate.

I can't think of anyway to make it so he can't use the stairs and not make it a hazard during an emergency.

Is there anyway you could move to a ranch home and then put a lock on the basement (if there is one) door?

 

[minkydog]

I don't see how baby gates will solve the problem. He is an adult and could try to step over one or he could have the strength to move the gate.

I can't think of anyway to make it so he can't use the stairs and not make it a hazard during an emergency.

Is there anyway you could move to a ranch home and then put a lock on the basement (if there is one) door?

I agree, a ranch style home would be the best for us. We can't put the house on the market right now--our house has been very devalued by all the foreclosures around us. There are homes in my nieghborhood that sold for $62,000. The same homes sold for over $200,000 5 years ago. We're going to try to hold onto it until Christian gets placed in a group home, because wherever he ends up--could be here in Atlanta or could be way down in south Georgia--I know that we will want to move to where he is.

For now, the baby gates are going to have to do. Fortunately for us, he doesn't understand how they work. He is adult-size but the baby gates we bought are tall and I will set them up so that they are at least up to his waist. We have a similar one across the basement stairs and he has never tried to top it. Christian does not try to climb over things or go under them. He will patiently wait at the gate, not making a fuss, until someone notices he's standing there. We'll have to keep the gates latched during the day. At night, Christian is locked into his room with a hasp lock so he can't get out but we can easily get in. We'll leave the gates open during the night, for safety. It's not ideal, but it's the best we have for now.