FOR many people affected by Storm Arwen, the impact is unimaginable – but for one disabled man in County Durham, it was a question of life and death after he was confined to the upstairs of his house for 48 hours due to his stairlift not having power.

Miles Gibson was diagnosed with MS in 2000 after a successful career as an airline pilot for KLM.

Since his diagnosis, Miles and his health have deteriorated in the 21 years that’s followed – which has seen him become a quadriplegic and rely solely on an electric wheelchair and a stairlift in his house in Mickleton, County Durham.

In normal circumstances, Miles would have access to the toilet and wet room at the downstairs of his property, but when the power in his house went out last Friday evening, he was stuck in the upstairs section of his house with no heating, no electricity and two children to keep entertained.

Read more: Storm Arwen: Northern Powergrid map shows when North East homes will get power

After power still wasn’t restored by Sunday morning, Miles and his wife Melanie, and children, Marshall, 11, and Myron, 6, were left on the landing of their house for 48 hours.

To keep warm, Miles was wrapped up in blankets and sheets, while the special diet that Miles normally has to follow for his diabetes was replaced by convenience takeaways that they could source from nearby Barnard Castle.

The situation has now been described by Mr Gibson as a “nightmare” and “desperate situation”.

The Northern Echo: Left: Miles is wrapped in blankets after having no heating. Right: Miles is comforted during the storm by his 6-year-old son Myron.Left: Miles is wrapped in blankets after having no heating. Right: Miles is comforted during the storm by his 6-year-old son Myron.

He said: “At that moment, there was no way to clean myself, nothing to do, and I had to watch my family live a miserable 48 hours keeping me company.

“I don’t know what I’d have done without my family – they were my saviours in those tough moments and got me through.

“My wheelchair, environmental controls, hoist and pressure-relieving cushions and mattress are all powered by electricity, and they were starting to run out of charge – I was at the mercy of Storm Arwen and could do nothing but sit there and wait.

“It caused my family an awful lot of stress – could you imagine becoming trapped for 48 hours? We couldn’t contact Northern Powergrid because our emails and phones were down, but I think everyone was in the same boat there.”

The Northern Echo: Left: The Gibson family were trapped on the landing of their property. Right: The piece of kit that can transport Miles downstairs wouldn't function without power.Left: The Gibson family were trapped on the landing of their property. Right: The piece of kit that can transport Miles downstairs wouldn't function without power.

Thankfully for the Gibson family, during the 48-hour ordeal, they were given a temporary gas heater and a single gas hob from one of Miles’ carers, and their power did return late on Sunday evening – ending a two-day period to forget.

Now that the power is restored to their house, the wife of Miles, Melanie Gibson, has highlighted how vulnerable and reliant her family were on Northern Powergrid and its partner agencies.

Mrs Gibson said: “For those 48 hours, it felt like an eternity – it might as well have been a week for all I knew. You don’t appreciate how vulnerable and open you are until something like this happens.

The Northern Echo: Miles, who has MS, is categorised as a quadriplegic and relies on electric wheelchairs and other equipment.Miles, who has MS, is categorised as a quadriplegic and relies on electric wheelchairs and other equipment.

“We didn’t have a landline; we don’t have internet still, and we didn’t get any support. I’m hearing a lot of the services that were put in place to deal with Storm Arwen are now judged ‘not fit for purpose'.

“The children were amazing throughout the whole power outage – they have always been attentive to Miles and his needs, and they helped us through this awful situation. They played games with their dad to pass the time and break the boredom – they were stars!”  

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