All about mobility scooters

[lauriegrove]

If anyone is intrested my friend Carol has a mobility scooter up for sale. It is in very good condition and if you are interested or know someone who needs one please pm me and I will get back to you asap.
I think she is looking for about £150

[l00pyp0u]

Hi, guys, need a quick answer here.
Has any one had/ got a mercury prism 4 and is it any good?

Having a look at it tomorrow, and wondered if anyone had tried it?

Ta,

Lou

[OzarksUSA]

I had to use the motorized scooter at Wal-Mart once again today. In the last month and a half I could walk around Wal-Mart once. I saw a Mennonite girl whispering to her mother and staring at me, then staring, more whispering...until I believe her mother told her "not to stare."

Okay, so that hurt my feelings. The way other people treated me was just as bad. They treated me like I was a nuisance and I kept having to stop suddenly. Just because I'm in a wheelchair doesn't mean I'm invisible!:!:

Then the last thing I was getting was a tiny ice cream cup in the frozen section. I stood up partially and when I did my hip dislocated and I almost yelled. It ended up going back into place, perhaps it was just a subluxation, but either way it hurt!

Then I couldn't make it down the frozen foods aisle to get to the checkouts because two women were standing in front of me. I said "excuse me" 4 or 5 times loudly and then one lady finally moved a small distance down.

Other than Jim, who was with me, the only person who treated me with respect was another lady in a Wal-Mart scooter.

I'm used to saying hi to random people in crowds and smiling at almost everyone even during painful moments I try to hide the pain.

But today when I'd say hi to someone or smile at them they either ignored me or acted rude. If I had something visible like my leg in a cast would they still act that way?

This was the absolute worst of my Wal-Mart trips in wheelchairs and scooters. For all of the rudeness and stares, I am still able to say that one woman genuinely smiled at me, because she knew how I felt, as she was in a scooter, too.

Thanks for listening to me!

[paw]

The scooters there are very hard to steer and they actually hurt me more than they help me because of my shoulders. My version of "exercise" is to go to a store and wander around till I can't walk anymore (that does not take long most of the time) then buy a couple of things a go home. People tend to stare at me too because my hip is bad and I limp badly. Guess what though.... it is THEIR personal problem when they stare. They are being rude and I am just trying to buy a couple of things and get out of the house to walk a little.

I have decided not to let it worry me. I can't fix my walking. I can't make other people be polite. Several times I have had people ask about my "accident" that hurt my hip. I just say that I have a bad hip which is a huge understatement! On the other hand I have no problem asking for help. If I can't reach something on a high shelf I look for someone who can and I ask them to get it for me. They are always nice when asked to help. People hold doors for me, sometimes people let me go ahead of them in the line to check out and pay.

Just go about your business and do what you want to do and maybe saying "be proud" is a little strong, but don't be ashamed either.

[OzarksUSA]

Thanks. Your advice is good and will help in the future when someone stares. I've been asked since High School "What did you do to your jaw/foot/ankle/knee(s)/wrists..." so I understand that too!

[nonyanomemory]

hi Amy,

Paw is right. Its sad but true - people are downright rude. Heed her advice and try your best to ignore the ignorant. The forum is here so that you can tell others with the condition how it makes you feel and they understand. I understand how you felt in Walmart. Amy do you know what - there is an advantage to having EDS it makes us strong, our collagen may be weak but I think we learn to survive when faced with difficult situations and long term this makes us good people. We learn fast to bear difficult situations with grace and our heads held high. At the end of the day most people's eyes glaze over at the very words ehlers danlos simply because it is not a common condition, people understand and are familiar with multiple sclerosis and the terminology, so I always imagine myself in a strangers shoes not understanding anything or having any knowledge of the condition and it helps me to remember that on the whole its not their fault they are ignorant.

To a certain extent these days I am like Paw, and if people say oh what have you done? I tend to respond like Paw and say oh I have a bad ...... fill in whatever bit(s) are problematical on that day. Sometimes I say really quickly 'oh I have a rare disorder that i was born with which makes my muscles weak' and generally people if they are not going to be a long term friend just say really quite nicely 'I am so sorry'. People don't mean to patronise i don't think and often they find themselves embarrassed at their ignorance.

Amy, you writing what you have will help someone one day who has just found the boards to realise they are not alone. So I for one want to thank you for your post. A tip a friend of mine gave me to help cope with rude people was a visualisation technique which goes like this. When faced with rude or difficult people imagine yourself surrounded by a big protective bubble and allow their silly remarks to bounce right off that bubble and right away from you. It sounds silly but sometimes it helps me when I remember to use it and it can sometimes just make me smile which diffuses the hurt as I imagine the sentences and exclamation marks dancing off away from me! I wonder also whether using an ipod and listening to music whilst shopping that you like would help (although thinking about that am not sure how safe that would be).

Happy shopping and stay strong.

nonya

[barkingmad]

Err after being nagged by family and friends I finally gave in and got a scooter, its great suddenly I have legs again and I can walk all three dogs now, well scooter them! Its great, freedom again! And as its off road I can get into the woods etc. I got it second hand off a certain website.

I am also waiting for my wheelchair assessment which I caved into as well, but I know I wont use it very often, just when out all day but I realised during the summer that I had to stay here because the terrain in an adventure park, Sue you know the one, was too bad for me to walk. So hopefully now I will get to go with hubby and kids instead of being left at home. I have to be careful because I dont want the children to grow up believing they will end up like me. I want them to be better off than I am because they get the right kind of help.

Have to say my jack russell loves going 8mph around the village!!! hee Hee we will get a speeding ticket soon! Or they will put sleeping policemen in and I will launch into space!

[barkingmad]

They are really amazing!

It loks even funnier when my mum (dibley) is out on hers with her three dogs and there is me trundling behind on mine with my three, we get some strange looks

I was stopped the other day by this elderly man on a moped who told me how great it was that I walked my dogs this way and that there was another lady he had just stopped and spoke to as well to say the same thing, but she had to go as her dogs had recognised her grandchildren! He looked at me really strangely when I said oh that was my mum and my kids! Hee hee.!!!

(I had left my kids waiting for mum who I had just passed in the car and my kids are old enough). But you are right Tabi, I was in the woods for ages with the dogs, searching for balls hidden by leaves, and I cant believe how easy it is to get up hills which I have given up on for 5 years!!

Mum had a go on mine today and I think she was secretly impressed at what it could do as hers is 4mph and cant get up and down kerbs very well. So I going to nag dad in getting her an off road one, at least then in the summer we can scooter up to the beach!

[SAMMY]

Ladies. That is really interesting. I didn't know you could get off roaders. That sounds perfect for old cobbled streets etc. I have just found someone I know who wants a wheel about so we are going to check them out and test drive for a day. I feel such a wimp not wanting to go out on my own! SAMMY

[sheppeyescapee]

Ladies. That is really interesting. I didn't know you could get off roaders. That sounds perfect for old cobbled streets etc. I have just found someone I know who wants a wheel about so we are going to check them out and test drive for a day. I feel such a wimp not wanting to go out on my own! SAMMY

Not a wimp at all, I would feel embarrased about trying it out on my own too I'm seriously thinking about becoming a wheelie too as it's getting too painful for me to get around now, I should try it out first

[Englishgremlin1]

Sounds like fun Barkingmad - if the power goes you have dog power!!!

[Tabi]

Donna, mine's only a 4mph one, but it's a lightweight one... it comes apart for shoving in the car but it's still a 4-wheeler... It's this 'un:
http://www.scooter.com/images/product/1015.jpg
It does kerbs and wet leaves and roots. Not mud though - I was wheel-spinning today

[SAMMY]

Hey ladies and gents. Sorry to be a pain again! I made a brave and nervous decision to go out on a scooter yesterday, loved it but now am hurting like hell. How was your transition? My hands are ok today but my back!!! What happened??? Advice please!! Sam

[barkingmad]

Hi Sammy,

It might have been that you over did things because everything was so much easier or that the scooter wasnt set up correctly for your height, leg length and the tiller was too far from you., Having the scooter set up specifically for you is a must really overwise you can be permanently overstretching.

I know it took me a week to adjust my scooter to suit me but I was going off road as well...you were in a shopping mall? If so its unlikely to be because you jarred yourself. I would have thought it was the scooter set up.

[everhopeful]

Does anyone know of a nice compact scooter that can be driven with both hands (delta bar). I have raynauds and may lose ability in either hand in cold weather, so OT says I need to have a delta bar. However the one she is recommending is really big and she is restricted to one supplier because she has be sent to assess me by the Royal British Legion. If my DLA comes through and I can self fund I would rather have a smaller one as long as it still suits my needs (ie. can be driven forwards and backwards with either hand).Thanks in advance for any comments or recommendations. Liz