My wife has had MS for about 15 years now. For the first few years she managed quite well. She had problems walking, but a walking stick was all she needed. In the house she puts her hands on the furniture to steady herself. She calls it ‘just her way of dusting!’

Over the past couple of years I have seen her walking get slowly worse. It is terrible to watch her struggle. Sometimes when we were walking to the shops, she had to sit down half way there. She said, that her legs just stop. I must admit I didn’t really understand it. I tried, but I couldn’t imagine not being able to just put one foot in front of the other. I don’t mean to sound cruel. I would watch her grab hold of things to help her not fall over.

She started not wanting to go out as much. Then she didn’t want to go out at all, unless we took the car. I tried to tell her the exercise would do her good, but she said it didn’t work like that.

We started to argue more……….

Then I suppose I started listening properly to what she was saying. She wasn’t just getting lazier. She really couldn’t walk like she used to. She said her legs felt a cross between concrete and jelly. That made no sense to me but I know it would be hard to walk if your legs felt like that.

I wanted to help her. What she missed the most was going to the local shops, and going round to her sister’s house. We were never blessed with children but we have two young nephews whom she adores and she just loves spending time with them.

She needed to be independently mobile again. The solution was staring us in the face. A mobility scooter.

I did some research. She needed the seat to swivel, to help her get in and out of the scooter. The controls weren’t too important as her hands were fine. Her favourite colour is red, and I knew she would love a scooter in red. (I wasn’t complaining at this either as my football team wears red!) I found out that you can add a walking stick holder to the back of the scooter and this sounded ideal. My essentials list was not very long, so I had plenty of scooters to choose from.

She knew what I was planning on buying for her. But when it arrived she was totally stunned and amazed. She was pleased with how easy it was to drive. Most importantly though, she was delighted at how much more confident she felt going outside. She was equally delighted that she was not completely exhausted when she got back to the house. MS ‘fatigue’ can be totally debilitating, and using the scooter minimised amount of time she spent totally exhausted.

I am so glad I finally started to understand my wife’s condition, and could do something practical to help. It is an added bonus that I have got back some points in being a good husband, and my wife is so much happier.

Just like with a car; your mobility scooter will stay in good working order longer if you keep it well maintained and get it serviced regularly. Please look at your manual that comes with the scooter to find out what areas are required for maintenance and servicing.

It is wise to have your scooter serviced by a qualified engineer. Especially if it is used on the road, class 3. Once a year is usual, but your scooter’s manual will tell you how regular a proper service should be for your model.

Every scooter is different so it best important to follow the instructions in your scooter’s manual.
We provide a copy of the manual to dowload before making a purchase so you have all the information you need.

Here are some general maintenance tips for your scooter:

Weather protection

• Covers will not only protect you but also the scooter from bad weather.
• Seats sometimes have fabric covers – if so; don’t forget to keep them dry.

Cleaning

• Wash off any dirt and dust as soon as you can.
• Keep you scooter as dry as possible – this will keep rust at bay for the longest time.
• Have you added any scooter accessories that need cleaning, or can dirt or dust build up?

Battery

• Over time you will find you have to charge your battery more and more often. Your battery’s ability to hold charge will gradually decrease.
• Sometimes you need to charge your battery after every trip, sometimes when the battery indicator tells you that it is time. Your scooter manual will tell you which kind of you have.
• Always make sure you have enough battery power for your trip. Don’t forget that lights and whether you are travelling up any hills will use up battery power too.
• Mobility scooter batteries tend to last 1 or 2 years before you need to replace them. This of course will depend on how much your scooter is used.

Tyres

All tyres will wear and tear, inspect them regularly to check they are still safe.

There are 3 types of mobility scooter tyre:

Pneumatic: These are pumped up with air, and can be punctured. They offer the smoothest ride. If you travel on uneven ground – this could be a very important consideration.

If you are using pneumatic tyres, regularly inspect them for punctures and wear and tear. Punctures can sometimes be repaired without needing a whole new tyre.

Solid: These cannot be punctured, but often mean that you feel the ride is harder. E.g. you may feel more jolts as you go over stones or kerbs. This may not be the best option for you if your condition or disability would suffer if you use solid tyres.

Filled: These tyres are puncture-proof. In terms of the ride they produce they are in between pneumatic and solid. The ride will be smoother than solid and harder than pneumatic.

Ask yourself questions like:  Do you use a lightweight mobility scooter or a  heavy duty mobility scooter ?

Do you travel on the road, pavement or in shopping precincts?

Find out which tyre is most suitable for the journeys you most often do on your scooter, and which is best for the model you own.

In the days when I drove a car; it had a 2 litre engine, and did 0-60 in seconds. I would drive about about hundreds of miles in a week, and I thought driving a mobility scooter would be easy!

I hadn’t driven for several years thanks to my disability,  so the increase in traffic was the first thing I noticed. As a passenger in a car I hadn’t really noticed this. The next thing I noticed unfortunately was how vulnerable I felt.

My scooter only did 8mph on the road, but at first  it felt really fast. That said; other traffic whizzing past me made feel dizzy! I felt the annoyance of car drivers as they passed me. I felt they were annoyed and frustrated with me in my slow scooter using the road. I suppose I had little patience with scooter users when I drove a car, so maybe it was my just desserts!

In time I realised that I was just as entitled to use the road as everyone else. Maybe even more so. I have little choice – use my scooter or stay in the house. Other people have the luxury of walking miles or taking the bus, car, train – you name it. I don’t feel in the way anymore, but I do take precautions when I drive my mobility scooter on the road.

These are the things that I think are essential and make you feel safer when using your mobility scooter on the road:

• Make sure you have enough battery power for your journey and to get back home (You wouldn’t drive you car without having enough petrol in the tank)
• Make sure your scooter is well maintained
• Make sure you have planned your journey well, especially if it is a new place that you are going. You don’t want to find that you are almost there and your scooter just can’t make the 3 steps that are in your way! (I find a couple of phone calls to the place you are going often solves this one quickly.)

Once these are done, I feel much more confident about my journey. Now I don’t feel so vulnerable, I feel freedom and independence!

When I am out of the house I use a wheelchair most of the time. This has just been my personal preference. Recently I have been thinking that a scooter might be easier and better for me though.

These are the things I have been looking at:

My situation:

• I can stand a little.
• I can’t walk far without assistance.
• I like to get out and about everyday.
• I am very independent (some would say stubborn) and like as little help as possible.
• Using my wheelchair tires me out, so I can’t always go where I want to go, or need to go.

What I am looking for:

• Something light and small that can be put in the car. I can’t drive anymore but friends and family can, and I want to go where they go.
• Something I can use in all weathers.
• Something that can move about easily. I like going to the shops and wheeling around town.
• Something that goes further than 10 miles in a day. I don’t go this far in my wheelchair, but if I am going to use a mobility scooter I want to get the maximum use out of it.
• Something that looks good. I don’t want something old fashioned. I like to think I am a young man. Mobility scooters might not be trendy, but I don’t want to look silly using one either.

My conclusions:

I am going to have to use 2 scooters in order to fit my needs.

Scooter No1

• A 4 wheel scooter that can travel 8mph. These can go on the road as well as the pavement. Some more heavy duty ones can also go off-road. Generally they can travel further distances than other scooters. They are quite large and can’t be folded up to transport them, but I will be able to go as far as I want to and go everywhere I need to go. I’ll use it for travelling into town, driving around and visiting friends and family.

Scooter No2

• A really  portable, travel, lightweight mobility scooter. This will be one of the many 3 wheel mobility scooters which can be packed into the car. I can use it on holiday and when I away from home. I can use it for shorter journeys and when I go to the supermarket, or shopping.

In all honesty I will probably just use/buy the bigger heavyduty mobility scooter and use my wheelchair at other times. This will solve many problems. I will be able to choose which ‘vehicle’ is the best for each journey. Sometimes it will be the scooter other times the wheelchair. I am happy with this situation, and am glad that I researched into mobility scooters and am going to take the plunge. I am hoping it will make a big difference to me.

I am glad the weather has finally improved. It makes going out on my scooter so much more fun.

In the winter, it’s OK going out on my mobility scooter. Without it I would just stay in, it’s kind of an essential in the winter, but in the summer I love it.

These are the reasons why:

• I don’t need to wear waterproof clothes.
• You can leave your scooter outside a shop, or a friend’s house without the seat getting all rained on by the time you come back out again.
• I don’t need to wash my scooter when I get home as it’s not all muddy.
• I can sit and talk to people for ages. I have noticed that other scooter users love to chat. I guess it’s because you are not standing up so you’re not in so much of a hurry to leave and go and sit down.
• I love to feel the wind in my hair and the sun on my face when it’s warm.
• There are more people out and about on a sunny day, I like bumping into people I know when I pop into town.
• A quick trip is not a chore, but a pleasure.
• I can drive to the local park and just sit on a bench watching the world go by, without worrying about how I am going to get home again.

The bad points about going out on your mobility scooter in the summer:

• When it’s really sunny, the sun can glare in your eyes and make it harder to see properly.
• Sunburn – sometimes you don’t realise how long you’ve been outside. Don’t forget sunscreen!

Overall, there are so many good points to using your scooter in the summer.  My life really wouldn’t be the same without it;  it’s the best piece of mobility equipment I own!

Using the right mobility scooter can make such a huge difference in your life. It can mean the difference in not having to rely on friends and family for small shopping trips. It can mean independence where you had very little before. However, for this to happen it is very important to buy the right mobility scooter.

Here are some considerations to think about before buying your scooter.

Where will you be going in your scooter?

• Shopping – you may need to make tight corners around aisles in supermarkets. A smaller, compact or travel scooter will make this easy.
• To friends or family – is there space to park your scooter. Can you drive there and back easily using the battery power in your scooter?
• General use around town – will you need to use roads, or go up and down curbs?
• Further afield, maybe to the next village or town?

Will you be going alone, or with someone?

• It is no good getting a scooter that travels at 8mph on the road if someone is coming with you, but walking – they don’t want to be running at your side to keep up!

Where are the places you want to visit?

• Are you going to travel there on your scooter or do you need to put it in the car and drive there first? Can it be dismantled easily for putting in the car?
• If you are going to put it in the car, how heavy is it, can you dismantle it and put it in the car yourself, or will you need help?
• Compact scooters tend to be lighter, and are specially designed to be taken apart and pu in the car.

Do you want to travel longer distances?

• The larger 4 wheel scooters can travel further, and are more stable. How far you can travel will depend on the sort of terrain you are travelling on (are you doing to go up hills?) and how much weight the scooter is carrying (you and any baggage). It is not unreasonable to ask some larger heavy duty scooters to travel up to 30 miles on one charge though.

What is your mobility like?

• If you have any balance concerns, you might want a more stable 4 wheel scooter.
• Will you need any help transferring into and out of the scooter?
• If you use a walking stick, is there a walking stick holder on the scooter?
• Do you need plenty of leg room? The 3 wheel, full size scooters generally have the most leg room.

Where are you going to store your scooter?

• Do you have a garage, or space for your scooter, or  are you going to need to store it inside? Some of the more compact/travel scooters come apart into quite small pieces and can be stored in a cupboard.
  

Is it within your budget to buy 2 mobility scooters?

• If you have a garage or space for storage, you might want to consider a more robust scooter, for travelling out and about, and a more compact scooter that you can put in the car and use in tighter spaces like the shops.