Can anyone help me. I am form the southwest in somerset about 30mins from Bristol. I have RRMS. I have l sided foot drop and walk with the aid of stick. I can only walk very slowly and am very stiff. I have sensory loss to the left hand. The only walking I do is form the house to my car which is a short walk then walking from the car par at work to my office. I manage the stairs with care and slowly. I dont go to the shops unless with a friend or husband. I have applied for PIP and had my medical last friday - still waiting to here. ( fingers crossed?!) I struggle with driving with foot drop and I have a manual car!!! but I love working - helps my mood and don’t want to restrict my life further. I work as a nurse and love what I do and do it with passion. Oooops i will get to the point! just thought I should set the scene
My husband is due to run the London Virgin Marathon in April and after the run we have booked to go to france on the Eurostar to celebrate out wedding anniversary. Having considered my limited mobility I am feeling quite anxious at the prospect of tacking London, Eurostar then Paris. I am considering ? hire of a motorised wheelchair /scooter. This has been a difficult decision because i struggled when I started to use a stick. I want to try and use the chair or get to locations then use a stick to try and walk around venues.
Can anyone help with travel tips/advice and also where I can hire a wheelchair from for this journey?
Thank you for the response! That has helped so much I was feeling slightly anxious about managing in Paris and also did not want to rely on my husband having to push me round, him having just run the marathon and risk of potential injuries if not just his sore feet
I have found a scooter hire company near where I live - brilliant. Nothing to stop me now. Lovely to hear about your experience in Paris - we were thinking of doing exactly the same. My sister lives very close to Luxembourg Gardens but will not be there when we are visiting. We are looking forward to the cafes, parks and chilling. Books, sunshine (fingers crossed) & relaxation. My sister has sent me a link from Paris regarding disability access which is great.
I think an automatic car is the way forward I am desperate to maintain independence where I can, in a safe manner. My husband works within the police force and we do go out on test drives when I have had a blip, to check if safe to manage since he is fully aware of the DVLA requirements. I hope I here from PIP soon. The foot drop is on the left side (clutch foot) - steering wheel controls sounds very sensible.
i don’t have a suggestion about where you could hire an electric wheelchair from but I would advise you to do a few trial runs first, perhaps hire a chair from shop mobility
I zip round in my electric chair with lots of confidence but oh boy it wasn’t like that in the beginning. I used to get stuck on the bus, crashed into a fixture in M&S, ran over an old ladies foot (oops) and generally caused havoc all over the place. I’ve got the hang of it now but it took some time. I was thinking that the driving at the London Marathon would be challenging in the crowds and you could do with some wheel time under your belt. I went to watch the Tour de France when it came to Leeds last year and it was hard work getting around with so many people who kept pushing in front of me.
I love Paris but I have not been since I started using a chair. I am not sure what the accessibility is like for a wheelie but you will need to plan carefully, especially getting from a to b but I am very jealous. I suggest that I go on ahead and reconointer
