Electric wheelchair

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

I have just got an electric wheelchair, it was my mum's and has been in my Dad's

garage for three years since Mum died three years ago. I will be able to use it

for getting round the village where I live and with the help of the Dial-A-Ride

service I will be able to get into Lincoln, four miles away, to go shopping

there on my own. The electric wheelchair will not fit in our car, so I will

still use my manual wheelchair when I go by car.

I have had to wait for friends to take me out in the village and I am very

grateful that I do have friends and family who will do that but now there is a

delightful feeling of being able to get out on my own again. I have already been

round to the local shop and met many people to talk to on the way. My husband

put an 'L' plate on the back of the wheelchair, one of the magnetic ones we had

when our son was learning to drive. That caused some smiles and started a

conversation or two. It is probably apprporiate anyway because I am not finding

it as easy to drive as I thought I would. The pavements are uneven and slope in

various directions which throws the wheelchair off course. It has a joystick

which I am getting quite used to. I did try the scooters they have at Asda

supermarkets but found the holding my hands up to use the controls so tiring

that by the time I got to the checkout I could not tell which coins I needed to

pay the bill with.

Yesterday, my husband and I went for a walk down the lane where I live, where

it goes into the countryside. I had not been down there for some years since I

had not been able to walk there. We met a couple walking with their two dogs.

One of the dogs leapt into the ditch when it saw me, and sat there, quivering.

It refused to budge. The owner told me that I would have to go on, since the dog

would not. When I went past, it dived into the field next to the lane. It was

absolutely terrified. I did not mean to frighten the poor thing.

I am looking forward to going out by myself on one of the sunny mornings where I

have longed to go for a walk. I have been pretty fed-up at sitting indoors on

fine days. Getting out can make a big difference.

I hope everyone is well.

Best wishes,

Lincoln, UK

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Congrats on your new mode of transport! You sound really pleased with it and

I'm so glad it's affording you some much-desired freedom.

Thank you to those who responded to my last post about my surgery being

" bumped. " I would have reponded to your kind words personally, but my email

server decided to delete my inbox without notifying me, so all my previous

messages were lost. So big thanks to , Nina, , and . And

thanks to everybody else for listening.

My surgery would have been tomorrow and I'm trying not to dwell on it (key

word: trying). Forty-three days and counting until January 29th (my new

date).

Oh, and to the person who was asking about pain in the feet, I can relate. I

experience sharp pains in my feet as well that sometimes make walking

difficult. They very well may be bone spurs and I agree that we should

always mention these symptoms to our doctors. (Now I just have to take my

own advice!)

Wishing you all a pain-free day,

Debbie

> Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 08:51:08 -0000

>

> Subject: Electric wheelchair

>

> Dear Friends,

>

> I have just got an electric wheelchair, it was my mum's and has been in my

Dad's garage for three years since Mum died three years ago. I will be able to

use it for getting round the village where I live and with the help of the

Dial-A-Ride service I will be able to get into Lincoln, four miles away, to go

shopping there on my own. The electric wheelchair will not fit in our car, so I

will still use my manual wheelchair when I go by car.

>

> I have had to wait for friends to take me out in the village and I am very

grateful that I do have friends and family who will do that but now there is a

delightful feeling of being able to get out on my own again. I have already been

round to the local shop and met many people to talk to on the way. My husband

put an 'L' plate on the back of the wheelchair, one of the magnetic ones we had

when our son was learning to drive. That caused some smiles and started a

conversation or two. It is probably apprporiate anyway because I am not finding

it as easy to drive as I thought I would. The pavements are uneven and slope in

various directions which throws the wheelchair off course. It has a joystick

which I am getting quite used to. I did try the scooters they have at Asda

supermarkets but found the holding my hands up to use the controls so tiring

that by the time I got to the checkout I could not tell which coins I needed to

pay the bill with.

>

> Yesterday, my husband and I went for a walk down the lane where I live, where

it goes into the countryside. I had not been down there for some years since I

had not been able to walk there. We met a couple walking with their two dogs.

One of the dogs leapt into the ditch when it saw me, and sat there, quivering.

It refused to budge. The owner told me that I would have to go on, since the dog

would not. When I went past, it dived into the field next to the lane. It was

absolutely terrified. I did not mean to frighten the poor thing.

>

> I am looking forward to going out by myself on one of the sunny mornings where

I have longed to go for a walk. I have been pretty fed-up at sitting indoors on

fine days. Getting out can make a big difference.

>

> I hope everyone is well.

>

> Best wishes,

>

>

> Lincoln, UK