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A Day in the Life: Living with a Mobility Aid
It can be a challenging decision to make the leap and begin using mobility aids, but those who do rarely look back. With a mobility aid, you now have the support you need to move around, balance yourself, and stop falls and injuries. Even better, with all the mobility aid options, you can find your perfect fit based on how much support and assistance you need.
As for how living with a mobility aid can change your life, the limits are indefinite—mobility aids open up your possibility for freedom and independence to a level you likely haven’t seen for years, an amount of joy and relief that you cannot understand until you take that first (assisted) step.
Types of Disability Aids for the Home
While mobility aids all share one central goal of helping you move more while maintaining safety, there are many different types of living aids for the elderly.
There are situational disability aids for the home, such as a bed rail that can be mounted beside your bed to help you with rising in the morning. It can even be placed in the living room by your couch to help you get up off it. These mobility aids don’t travel with you; instead, they find a spot where they are most needed.
However, there are mobility aids that can travel with you, varying based on how much support you need. If you need an extra bit of support or balance, a walking stick can offer something extra to lean on. As a step up, there are rollators, which can easily travel with you. The best rollators and walkers even have a built-in seat, offering a spot for you to sit and rest no matter where you may be.
Finally, there are wheelchairs, mobility aids that step in when your legs don’t function as they used to or when they need a break from holding you up.
With all the types of independent living and mobility equipment, life can look different based on which ones are a part of your house and lifestyle.
A Day in The Life of a Wheelchair User
A day in a wheelchair can look different for everyone, but there are some common threads.
Waking Up
The sun is poking through the curtains and the birds are singing their morning wake-up song, but those in a wheelchair usually can’t just swing their legs to the side of their bed and press themselves up—they may need some help.
For those who have functionality in their legs, just at a lower strength, a bed rail can assist you, offering something to push against and hold onto, maintaining balance as you situate yourself in your wheelchair.
For those who cannot get into the wheelchair themselves, a caregiver or family member can assist as you get into the wheelchair. The great thing about the wheelchair is that, even if you need help getting into it, you regain your mobility once situated.
Once you’re seated, it’s time to get moving.
Rolling Through the House
The houses of wheelchair users are designed with mobility in mind, such as keeping doorways wide (which means not placing any furniture too close to the doorway) and avoiding carpet when possible—especially area rugs, as the edges can peel up.
Additionally, those in wheelchairs are master organizers and are sure to place all their most-used items within easy reach, increasing their independence.
Seeing Where the Day Goes
The best wheelchairs can keep up with their users wherever they desire to go, whether it’s off the well-paved path or to travel locations far away. Wheelchairs should be durable enough to handle it and capable of folding up for easier transport.
Of course, wheelchair users understand that when it comes to traveling somewhere, especially somewhere new, a little extra planning needs to go in to ensure that it is wheelchair accessible. This extra bit of planning is well worth it when considering the alternative is not going anywhere, or being unsure and disappointed when you get to your destination.
You may need to plan extra, but with your wheelchair, you can still explore the world.
The best home disability aids for the elderly also hold a secret weapon—the ability to have multiple purposes. This makes combination rollators and wheelchairs exceptionally appealing since they can remain as rollators up until you need extra support, at which point they can transition to a wheelchair.
The goal of a mobility aid is to support the mobility you can handle, not sequester you into one category. If you can move, do it—your mobility aid will be there for the days and times when it’s a little harder.
Going To Bed
With the adventures of the day now becoming fond memories, it’s time to prepare for bed. After wheeling to the bathroom to brush their teeth and wash their faces, wheelchair users situate their wheelchairs beside the bed to make for an easier transition. As a bonus, having the wheelchair here ensures they have an easier time getting into it in the morning—if someone were to move their wheelchair across the room once they’re in bed, they wouldn’t be able to get into it on their own in the morning.
As a reverse of the morning performance, those in a wheelchair use something sturdy to help hold themselves up as they get out of the wheelchair and into bed, such as a bed rail.
Once in bed, it’s time to sleep and repeat it all the next day.
Mobility Aids Are Tools for Happiness
Life with a wheelchair, minus a few extra steps taken, is incredibly similar to the life of those without, and that’s the way it should be. The best wheelchairs and living aids for the elderly allow you to move with the same freedom and independence you strive for, which makes the decision of what wheelchair to purchase all the more important.
Mobility aids offer a balm to your mental health, allowing you to maintain your active social life, a crucial component of good mental health. They offer support when needed but also can be put away on days that they’re not. They can fold up easily, making them easily transportable to wherever your travels and days take you.
When you invest in a good wheelchair, you won’t feel tied down to it; instead, you’ll see it for the tool it is—a way to regain your mobility.
Learn More About Our Mobility Aids
If you're looking for a rollator or walkers designed to help get their freedom back.
We stock a selection of the UK's most popular wheelchairs.
View our range of mobility aids to help you in the home and when you are out and about.
References
Requejo, P. S., Furumasu, J., & Mulroy, S. J. (2015). Evidence-Based Strategies for Preserving Mobility for Elderly and Aging Manual Wheelchair Users. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 31(1), 26–41. https://doi.org/10.1097/tgr.0000000000000042
Fact Sheet on Wheelchairs. (2010). World Health Organization. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/205041/B4616.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
About the Author
Jessica Guht
Jessica is a freelance medical writer with a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering.
Learn more about the author on Jessica's website.