A safe home for Ivan

Ivan English has been through more than most.

Having lived with health problems for many years including kidney failure, Ivan (53) has spent a lot of time in and out of hospital. Between 2020 and 2024, he had nine heart attacks, which led to a quadruple heart bypass that helped to save his life.

But later that year, Ivan fell seriously unwell again with an infection in his foot. In 2025, doctors had to make the difficult decision to amputate his foot so he could survive.

After a long stay in hospital, it became clear that his previous home no longer met his needs. Ivan would have had to crawl up steps, through narrow doorways and around rooms he could no longer access safely. Living independently would have been almost impossible with his new wheelchair.

That’s when Maldon District Council and Eastlight worked together to help.

Ivan now feels safe and comfortable in a home that works for him, regaining a sense of independence and confidence after a very difficult period. He’s also just a short journey away from the hospital where he goes for dialysis and other appointments, meaning less travelling, less stress and more energy to focus on his health and recovery.

Ivan said: “The move was easy due to the keys being left in a key safe, and the Eastlight staff who helped me were nice.

“My Neighbourhood Lead showed me around my new home and made me feel welcome.”

Ivan has also found support close to home. His mate’s mum and dad also happen to live opposite and have recently helped him with the small but important things, like taking his curtain hems up and lending a hand with paperwork.

For anyone going through a hard time, Ivan has a simple, but honest message: “Keep getting out of bed. You’ve just got to keep going.”