My scooter: [I 1st posted it as a reply... - Fibromyalgia Acti...

Fibromyalgia Action UK

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My scooter

hamble99b profile image
13 Replies

[I 1st posted it as a reply but thought I'd blog it]

I've started using my own scooter while out. I've decided that it's a positive step as -

I can be out for a bit longer;

I can get further;

the pain is less;

more quality time with friends as I'm not struggling to breathe/move/keep up;

I get to be out where life is going on;

I meet nice people who smile or pass a moment [eg "cold today"] or ask if I can reach;

I'm acknowledged as a person - not invisible, I exist!

I get to be independent.

I know there are negatives but they're the same as everyday when I'm on my crutch [es] so they aren't botherable [ I just made that word up! ]

try the scooters out in supermarkets first. I hope this might help someone.

regards,

sandra.

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hamble99b profile image
hamble99b
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13 Replies
soma1 profile image
soma1

hi sandra, you go girl, i got myself a scooter a while ago, but when i use it i feel like everyi is looking at me , and thinking y is she on that, had fibro over 8yrs and av kidney trouble and cancer, but to look at me in the face ,people who dont know me wud never know wat hell i go thro, so reading your story has made me think i shud use mine all the time and just get out more. tc soma x

hamble99b profile image
hamble99b in reply tosoma1

oh do! I'm enjoying mine. It's nice to see Christmassy bustling going on.

if anyone is smalll minded enough to judge you, then that is their loss.

if you feel up to it do it! but pace yourself and rest too.

regards,

sandra.

Extremelygrumpy profile image
Extremelygrumpy

Yup my scooter is my lifeline to getting out and about. I bought a big one , takes up to 25 stone in weight I am only 10 stone , but I had other plans for how to use it when I bought it..It has a top speed of 8 miles an hour and is legal to drive on the road.... Whooo hoo on a good day I go down the hill to town at 10 and a half miles an hour. Then do sedate crawl with all the people get my shopping and load up my scooter in the basket on the floor and head home at a more sedate pace..... Yeah some day you get looks and comments, I have now learned to ignore them or to the people who are brave enough to say something I have my standard reply... You try living in my body for 24 hours , then come back and criticise me,

VG x

angelwitch profile image
angelwitch

Well Sandra, you took the words right out of my mouth.. My son wanted to buy me one 4 years ago, but the rest of my kids (all grown up now) said no it would make Mum lazy.. So when I moved from Hull To the Scottish Borders I bought my-self one. Best thing I ever did, I get up & down the Hills to Shops and out and about, with-out fear of having to sit down for a rest or pain and looking at 200yards as the M1..LoL.

My little scooter is my life-line and I'm not afraid to go out now. and if any small minded person was to say any-thing to me, my reply would be.. My other wheels are with the local chapter of Hells Angels having a re-spray..LoL

Ride free Sandra, Merry Crisp Mouse.. ;-)

mason profile image
mason

hi all 2 have an 8 mile an hour scooter it is my lifeline .i have fibromyalgia .asthma osteoporosis .and neuropathy nerve damage to my feet .so very painfull to walk .before i got the scooter i was housebound ,my life was passing me by .i was so flustrated .now i go every where on my sturdy stead ,ha ha my scooter .i go to the supermarkets the library into town to see the shops .no mre waiting for my family to help me .i dont care if people stare at me .i wish they made a 20 mle per hour scooter .i could get to places faster ,but at the mo i am a hapy independant .biker .

Sarah-Jane profile image
Sarah-Jane

Before my scooter I sat about waiting for someone to be available to take me somewhere. I felt down and alone, trapped in my own home and guilty that the beautiful year old spaniel no longer had the person I was to take her on long walks. My husband hated the wheelchair I insisted I needed and my mother bought for me - freedom of a sort. I could go shopping with family or take a taxi on my own [I never did the latter, too scared]. My husband thought I would get lazy and rely on it too much. He then considered me to be able to get better if I tried.

After a lot of heartache and tears he relented, I got DLA for mobility and bought a scooter that had good suspension so I wouldn't get rattled about, goes up to 8 miles an hour in case I needed to use it on the road, it came through Motability Scheme which means the money for it is paid direct from DLA and I get the rest for taxis or whatever. It is covered by insurance and has road tax too! I have freedom and peace of mind in one package, and was then able to take my dog for the walks! We even managed the beach, though I had to be careful not to get stuck too far from the scooter.

My scooter is a lifeline - it keeps me out and about. I thought when I got it, it didn't look like mine, so I have decorated it using a car seat and then sewed applique butterflies on the back. If people are going to stare, give them something to stare at! If anyone looks my way, I smile and comment on the weather etc.

I know people don't understand. I accept that. Before I had FM I had not heard of it. I wasn't ever rude, but sometimes wondered why young and attractive people were using them, and concluded that they wouldn't unless they needed them.

Yes I was one of those who wished I could use one when I had been shopping for hours and my legs and back hurt, but I never wished to have to use one. Those that express a wish to use it, I tell them yes its fun when you don't have to use it.

Anyone considering buying one of these, talk to those who already are in your area. Go through the Mobility Scheme as they will help match you and your area to the right vehicle. Then when you have one, don't let it sit and moulder. Get out there! Look for dropped pavements to cross the road and watch out for the steep driveways! Apart from that, have fun!

Enjoy your freedom! Got to go, planning to go out on mine whilst the sun is shining and not feeling too bad.

rainbowdancer profile image
rainbowdancer

Hi I have a little Red scooter,I call Indie (it gave me back my Independence ) :-)

It is a fold up one to put in the car,I went that way because everytime we went away to a new town shopping, or to visit a country estate,we could not get a scooter, and I would try and walk and ruin the day for my friends or family.

We now take it everywhere it even helps when I go to the Dr ,or hospital! No more wheelchairs ;-)

I never got a big one because I live in a small town and very rarely shop there.

I got mine at a good price ( £350 ) anyone wanting to enquire message me. It holds up to 20st

Gentle hugs to all x x

Rainbow.

hamble99b profile image
hamble99b

thankyou for your lovely comments,

I got a WAV - wheelchair adapted vehicle recently which allows me to run the scooter up the fitted ramp - I can't lift or dismantle a scooter.

I bought my scooters on ebay one small - thunderbird 4; one big - thunderbird 2; [although , maybe it should be 1 and the wav should be 2! ]

regards,

sandra.

many towns have "shopmobility" scooters, it costs about £10 a year.

Ozzygirl64 profile image
Ozzygirl64

Not got a scooter lol as I have no intentions of joining the street race that goes on around here. We have two pensioners, a couple. Their scooters are blinged up to the hilt lol. And they race each other, nearly been knocked down a few times by them and they have had a warning off the police lol. But if they see someone coming in the opposite direction they put their foot down and head right for them side by side, crazy or what pmsl xxxxx

hamble99b profile image
hamble99b in reply toOzzygirl64

you could be the one who regains the good name of scooter people - or have you a quad bike like your ozzy?

Ozzygirl64 profile image
Ozzygirl64 in reply tohamble99b

Now there is a great idea lol. I am just taking a ten minute break as my whole body is burning and I am on a bit of a downer tonight, unusual for me xxxxxx

hamble99b profile image
hamble99b in reply toOzzygirl64

sending you a soft hug,

sandra.

Ozzygirl64 profile image
Ozzygirl64 in reply tohamble99b

Thanks hun xxxxx

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