“This Scooter Has Changed My Life!”
By Melanie Preston

I have a Sunrise Medical Elite scooter which I love as it’s given me freedom and independence.

It’s very well designed and the controls are very easy to operate. It’s a smooth ride over pavements and the seat is so incredibly comfortable – like an armchair. I have no trouble being on it for an hour.

This scooter has completely changed my life. For 2-3 years I couldn’t go outside at all to walk around, not even to post a letter, and could only travel around by taxis, which was expensive and you don’t have control over when you come and go. The scooter makes me much more independent. I can go and visit friends – I wasn’t able to do that before. And I can go to local shops, have my hair done, and buy a paper. I feel I’ve been out for a bit of fresh air. I can go to a cafe and sit at an outside table and have a coffee. I also go on it to my Pilates class twenty minutes away.  Friends and family are amazed at its quality.

I think it’s a young, disabled person’s scooter. It is expensive, but as I don’t drive a car, this was my answer to driving. When I was looking for a scooter, I wanted something which reflected my personality – which is to be outgoing and adventurous. I didn’t want a scooter which just went on pavements, but something which could take me through woods and into the countryside. This scooter can go places other scooters can’t manage. It can go 36 miles on one charge, can handle grass, sand and rough terrain and can climb up a 4” kerb.

Before MS, I used to love mountain walking, and now my scooter enables me to climb steep hills again. I can now go for walks with my husband Mark – something I haven’t been able to do for years.  Now we’ve got a large Toyota Corolla, we take the scooter with us wherever we go. We’ve got family on the south coast and can have sea walks along the cliffs. Mark can walk beside me and we can still talk. It’s got a variable speed up to 8mph and if I go a bit faster it can keep him fit.

Before getting this scooter, Mark pushed me in the wheelchair but it’s not the same as walking beside him talking and being able to enjoy the walk. In a wheelchair, you can’t see the person who’s pushing you, but in a scooter they can walk beside you. When you’re in a wheelchair, it feels a very passive thing to do, especially when you’re pushed. I find it very painful when people talk to my husband and not me. When you’re on a scooter, it shows you’ve got all your faculties.

I like the way it looks and chose it in navy. I’ve been out in all weathers and it’s really waterproof. After it’s rained, you only have to wipe it down with a tea towel and it’s completely dry to get into. You can buy a canopy so it’s completely covered like a little car. I’ve got a rain poncho which kept me really dry and my hands dry. If it gets dark while you’re out, you just switch on the headlights and feel completely safe. It’s got plenty of storage space, with a decent size basket and also a little boot. There’s room to put stuff on the base too.

I keep the scooter outside my flat, covered up with a fitted tarpaulin. The charger lead goes through the letter box. I always keep it fully charged and it always takes me where I want to go.

Of all the things I own, it’s my most prized possession. I can’t praise it highly enough.

Source: New Pathways Magazine MSRC

Ok, so you don’t buy a mobility scooter because they look great. You buy one because they enable you to get out of the house more. That is worth more than anything.

I used to use my wheelchair most of the time. This had one problem, the local shops were just that bit too far away. I would go there in my wheelchair, but by the time I got back I was exhausted. This happened once too often. So after much soul searching, I bit the bullet and got a mobility scooter.

After that – life changed. I still use my wheelchair, but not in the same way. Now when I want to go to the shops, I zoom there (well trundle) in my scooter. When I get home I am not exhausted, I am ready for my next challenge; not my bed.

I am stubborn; I don’t like to ask for help. I don’t want to ask my wife to go to the shops for a newspaper or more milk. I want to go myself; without it taking every last ounce of my strength to do so.

My cousin only lives 1 mile away. That doesn’t sound far, but it is like 20 miles away to me in my wheelchair. This time last year I hardly ever saw him. Now, with my scooter, I can go and see him whenever I want. I don’t have to wait (and wait!) for him to come and see me.

I used to think mobility scooters were for elderly people. To be honest, I thought they were a bit naff. Since getting one, I don’t care what they look like. The most important thing is that my scooter gets my independence back, it gets me mobile. It gets me out doing the things I used to do. I can visit friends, go to the shops. I no longer sit at home waiting for help, doing things for myself is no longer just too difficult.