Hi there everyone, ok this may sound a bit ( or a lot) odd, but does anyone else use a pushchair as a walker ?
I find that when i am out shopping i can ‘get away’ with using a pushchair to help mobility. I am 56years old and the pushchair seems to ‘blend in’ despite the fact there is a shopping bag in place of a child. No one looks twice at a woman pushing a pushchair.
The only disadvantage is there is no seat to rest on, but where i go, there are plenty of benches dotted about.
I think it all depends on you.
Do what ever it takes. However, do make sure the height works for you. Changed from experimenting with a typical rollator to a rugged one which I can set high enough for me and it is completely different. If you go for a rollator check out the ones that fold side to side they are much easier to transport.
Getting out and about safely and confidently is what is important, but by all means be inventive.
I hadn’t ever considered it, but I like that idea! I do very little shopping unless I can use a trolley, but of course I have to get into the store first, so I like your idea better.
Hi Tally, I don’t think it sounds odd at all. I can remember thinking exactly the same way, but ended up with a walker (with a seat), then a scooter, and finally a wheelchair.
I tried so very hard not to be in a wheelchair, but the falls were getting harder to cope with and my legs just wouldn’t work or behave as I wanted them too. My body was getting too painful and bruised from the number of daily falls as I tried to continue to get around.
It’s hard to think back to my pushchair thought days now and my electric wheelchair gives me the opportunity to get out of the house so makes me happy. But in the beginning if I could have got hold of a pushchair I’d have been doing the same as you. Life is wonderful x M
Awwwww yes I fully understand that your situation has progressed to a wheelchair. We have to accept that our mobility aids ARE going to change but must view them as a lifeline. I KNOW its hard viewing these aids with glee , of course it is, but i go with the saying in life in general “It is what it is.”
I I too have a mobility scooter for LONNNNNG walks that a pushchair would be as useful as a chocolate fire guard… i also have a FES attached to my lower leg to help with drop foot, SOOOOOOO all in all we have to accept the aids ( despite mine is a pushchair without a baby haaaa )
Take care
Hi Tally, lol you’ve just made me remember my FES days I looked like I was doing a goose step march, then one of my legs would lift higher than it should and I’d end up on the floor.
Of all the things I tried I think that was the funniest as my reflexes (which are already rapid) just went into overdrive and even though adjustments to were made in the end I was advised it wasn’t safe for me.
Still I tried and to me that’s the main thing. Mx
I look at the aid as a tool and think of what extra things it means I can do.
I try and use the right tool for the job in hand. I walk unaided when I can, use a stick if needed, use a rollator for increased range, scooter for days out. Was about to give up the idea of using our camper van but a great trip around Norfolk using it and buses.
If we embrace a change that may become inevitable I am sure we will do better.
However we still need to exercise and eat well etc.
Ohhhh ABSOLUTELY. My mum used to say to me ( about life in general ) “Accepting is half the battle.”
I am a firm believer in that. If we can accept the changes in our lives and embrace them opposed to fearing and loathing them, then we are totally IN CONTROL …
Also on the plus side, my husband is now 'best friends ’ with the pushchair because it enables us to have a lovely time at whatever place we’re at… I used a stick or sticks before but for some reason the pushchair gives me more confidence plus when im looking at whatever in shops, i dont have to faff about with my stick ( or sticks )… and because of THAT it makes my mindset a cheerful one haaaaa.
sounds smart to me. I use shopping trollies in a similar way.
I see to tools that we use as enablers which improve my life, If someone else thinks it looks odd, that is not my problem and I am too busy making the most of my options.
Mick
My sister loved it - said she would have stuck two kids but she enjoyed the prom so much her third came along