The seller told us that several people have inquired about it on behalf of a loved one who they think could use such an apparatus, but then the loved one ultimately refused it, because it was important to them to keep navigating the stairs on their own strength.

We're in the opposite situation -- GrandDad's family wants him to keep climbing the stairs on his own as long as possible, 'cause it's good for his heart.  It was his own idea to get the lift.

Okay, not exactly.  We, the family, think that a stairlift is an excellent long-term strategy for keeping him in the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed.  We want him to get his exercise on the staircase as long as possible, but no longer.  If and when the time comes that it's a safety risk for him to climb stairs, something like this would be ideal.  Of course, there's plenty of room on the ground floor, but he's got the second-floor suite set up just the way he likes it, so why not stay there for the rest of his life?

And he doesn't actually plan on using the lift himself right away.  He started thinking about it as something he might want down the road a bit, if he doesn't stay as mobile as he is now.  Then he started actively looking into the idea after it occured to him that he could use it as a valet/dumbwaiter.  He likes to take his breakfast and lunch back upstairs to eat in his favorite chair.  And while walking up and down the stairs is no problem, walking up and down the stairs while balancing a tray filled with round fruit, a glass of juice and a bowl of cereal can be bit of a challenge.  

We're going to try to install it ourselves.  I'm sure the resident engineer and his assistant are up to the task mentally.  If we need some help physically, we'll recruit help either from the neighborhood teenagers or the young whippersnappers at church (you know, the guys who are only 60-something -- which is apparently young for a Presbyterian).