By Simon Sansome
For most people a scooter getting a flat tyre is not a big issue as they can just get up and walk away.
For me it leaves me more isolated than normal, and to top it all off my electric wheelchair is damaged as well.
Being disabled means you reply on electronic equipment, it gives you independence.
In the home I use an electric wheelchair and outside the home I use a mobility scooter.
This week I’ve been left frustrated, more isolated than normal and I’ve been snapping at people around me as, the same day my wheelchair got damaged, my scooter got a flat tyre.
I do have a manual wheelchair which I have not used in such a long time and I understand why now.
Using a manual wheelchair is very restrictive. I can’t carry stuff in a manual wheelchair, my thumps are throbbing and I have blisters, and when it rains your hands struggle with the metal rims of the wheelchair. Personally I can’t see why anyone would use a manual wheelchair unless that is your only option. Now it is going to take a week to get my wheelchair repaired meaning I have lost my independence in the home from what I can normally do.
Coming back for the scooter, I was at my sisters in her garden for a BBQ and I got a flat tyre. I called the breakdown service which were less than helpful on a Sunday afternoon. This is my fourth flat tyre in as many months and they only offer three call outs a year on breakdown and so my brother in law has to push me back to my car in an office chair.
This may just seem like a moan but it is more than that, the majority of organisations I have spoke to in getting my scooter and wheelchair repair do not seem to understand the urgency in this matter and how much people with disabilities rely on scooters and wheelchairs and if something goes wrong it leaves you frustrated, isolated and angry that within in minutes you are alone once again and need to have assistance in even the easiest tasks like making a cup of tea.
Ability Access 