[ To view a video about Mary, please click on Home Modification Videos.]

Mary has lived in her home for 48 years.

Anticipating back surgery a year ago, she was faced with the difficult decision of whether to move to an assisted living facility. Thanks to modifications made on her home, Mary has been able to stay in “the only place I can imagine myself living.”

While Mary, 83, was looking at assisted living facilities and ruling most of them out, her daughter found out about home modifications and, in particular, the tub cut which enables her mother to get in and out of the tub easily and independently.

“If I moved my life would not be the same. I would have to make new friends. I would have to do what everyone else did. I want to do what I want to do,” said Mary.

The spacious living room in her split level home is filled with mementos of a life well-lived: an arrangement of orchids; a crystal decanter; beautifully framed photographs of five generations of her family, starting with her parents.

Mary is not alone in her wish to stay in her own home. Presently, the U. S. has more than 34,000,000 seniors and there is a national trend of seniors desiring to “age in place.”

Along with the tub cut, Mary’s home modifications include a shower bar and a railing next to her bed. Many home modifications are inexpensive and fairly easy to install. One example is Mary’s raised sofa -- that was raised simply by being put securely on top of cinder blocks. As Mary explained, “This helps me get up and down more easily.”

She used a stair glide for some months after her surgery but since has had it removed. “Now I am getting stronger because I walk up and down my stairs.”

A former bookkeeper who worked with her late husband in their family business, Mary misses the hustle and bustle of her life before her retirement 13 years ago. Nonetheless, she leads an active life.

She still drives, with the help of a brace in the car, and enjoys going out to eat and visiting with her friends and her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She drives to the mall to take a walk. Every now and then she drives to the casinos in Atlantic City.

Mary is living an independent life in the place that she loves best. “I enjoy the daily care of my house,” she emphasized. “This is my home. I have plenty of room here and I’m comfortable. I think that getting home modifications is the right thing to do, and I’m going to stay here as long as I can. This is where I belong.”