Insurance Against Ever Needing One
Twenty years ago, I kept my mother’s four-wheel rollator as a sort of insurance against ever having to use one! And I didn’t use it!
Then, with age and related health issues over the past year, I welcomed pushing my little great-granddaughter’s buggy, or leaning (heavily) on the arm of one of my children, when out with the family. I resisted using a stick, and I definitely was not going to use a rollator. Besides, I already knew that my mother’s four-wheeler was too heavy for me to get in and out of the car, and I wanted to maintain my independence while I can still drive.
However, as more recent heart issues have affected my mobility, I have had to accept that my demands had to change.
Finding One Light Enough to Lift
Several internet searches, and WhatsApp messages to my retirement village neighbours, failed to reveal a rollator that was light enough (or aesthetically acceptable enough) to meet my demands, until… eventually… a very unassuming invitation arrived for me to inspect one I hadn’t seen before. It was a white byACRE Carbon Ultralight from Assist Mobility. White! And I could lift it with one hand! And the folding mechanism was the easiest I had ever found! A hasty check on the internet revealed pink, which was very tempting, but within a day I had ordered black. It looks like a racing model, but at 90 I have had to give up ambitions to keep dancing, let alone racing.
Everything I Need, Nothing I Don’t
I have the pouch, which comes with the initial order and is easily attachable to the rollator, and I have added the day pack, which looks business-like enough for documents to take to a meeting. I haven’t felt the need to add anything else because, at this point, what I have satisfies all my needs. It provides a comfortable seat when I need to stop to catch my breath. A granddaughter has threatened to ‘personalise’ the rollator, but I prefer my sedate, streamlined black, without balloons, flowers, streamers or stickers – though that may change in time!
Independence Restored
The byACRE rollator has given me the ability to load it into my car without assistance, and then to unload it wherever I want to go. National Trust gardens have become accessible again, because I know that I can manage alone. It is easily manoeuvrable and, in particular, it can be turned round in its own ‘wheel print’, which is very valuable in small lifts, for instance. The easy collapsing method (simply lifting the canvas seat using the hand grip space provided) means that it can be squeezed through narrow spaces and then opened up again. This collapsing method also makes storage much more convenient, because the rollator still stands stably upright when it is collapsed.
Having had the experience of handling a traditional four-wheeler for my mother, the ease with which the Carbon Ultralight can be collapsed, lifted and placed in a car (whether in the boot or standing behind the front seats) is one of the reasons why I was so happy to find it.
Easier on My Heart
Walking with it is easy. My weight is shared by my arms and shoulders, rather than being entirely on my legs, and this relieves effort for my heart. It runs smoothly – less of a ‘bone-shaker’ than my mother’s old one. The aesthetics – the streamlined shape, no external cables to catch on corners and the range of colours – mean that I am (almost) proud to be seen with it, bearing in mind that I was never, ever going to use a rollator. This has been a life-changer for me!
Learn More About my Rollator
