Good morning all
I am sitting here looking at my newly delivered wheelchair…I’m 44.
Surely it cant be for me,especially as it was delivered by the people who do all my chairs for the people I work with.
Then I remember I dont work anymore as my brains and body fail to communicate with each other and yes it is for me…
Pip
I am sure that it is a really funny feeling - I will probably get there eventually with my PPMS. However, I’m sure it will also give you more freedom too when you go out and about. It’s just another step(lol) in that MS journey. As you know, you will adapt but I do get how you must feel. Embrace the good things that it will do for you - shopping without total exhaustion and useless legs after 10 mins will be a thing of the past! Hope it really helps you Pip. Teresa xx
(((((hugs)))))
It’s a real blow in the beginning, but these days I LOVE my chair! I can go shopping, for days out, be seated when I’m knackered and use no energy to get about (because someone else is doing the work pushing me :-)), etc.
Make sure and practise balancing on the big wheels - there are some decent youtube videos about how to do it (the best one I found was by an old guy in a hospital room - he actually explains it properly). If you can do this, you will find it very much easier to self-propell and get up and down small steps. Also remember to lean forward if you are going up hill and lean back for going down hill. (By the way - you WILL fall back when practising wheelies in the beginning so make sure there is nothing hard to land on!)
I’m sure you’ll come to love your chair too. It sucks that you need it, but if you do, a chair is the answer to getting back some of your independence and having a better life 
Karen x
Thank you both
Pip
Sending you my best wishes Pip, and a hug xx
Hi pip, Karen and Teresa have given great responses there so I just want to say I’m thinking of you. I can imagine that’s a big moment receiving you chair- life must feel very real. However as Karen and Teresa say, hopefully it will bring you freedom and flexibility. How are you feeling today? Xxx
Hi Pip, as you already know, I`ve been a wheelie for a long time.
I think of my chair as my legs. Without it I`d be stuck in and never going out.
It`s a prized possession of mine.
Im sure youll feel the benefit once you get used to using it and speaking to folk. I seem to notice more things when at this level…like dust in the corners and scruffy skirting boards!
But it ain`t all bad. far from it.
Enjoy
luv Pollx
Thank you all who have replied or pmd,I am very grateful.
Chair (which is yet to be named) is having its first outing tonight.
I was horrified to find my hubby had paraded the fact on facebook,but then I guess it shows it affects everyone.
The one question is I’m a use it or lose it sort of person as I’m sure many are,so,do I look a plank pushing an empty chair round the shopping malls until I need to hop in,or send hubby miles back to fetch it out of the car?
Poll trust me at the moment you could see my dust even from a ceiling hoist…and did your lift into the camper ever get a name?
Pip
Use it!!! The whole point of the chair is to allow you to do more than you can do without it. If you wait till you’re knackered you’re kind of defeating the purpose! Think about it. If you can manage 2 shops without your chair before you’re knackered then you can probably manage 10 or more in your chair before the same level of fatigue kicks in. But if you wait till you’re knackered to use the chair you won’t enjoy it at all and will be lucky to make it to even 5 shops. It’s an energy saving device - not a seat! And unless you’re going to be in a chair 24/7, you will still be using it and be in no danger whatsoever of losing it. Go for it - you’ll be amazed what a difference it makes Kx
Yes I guess that makes sense…I hadnt even thought of that option!!!
Maybe my acceptance level isnt quite where I thought it was,and I have spent all morning sorting out the garden. Admittedly sitting to do each thing but still on the move.
Thank you Karen I guess I needed the voice of reason.
Pip
Hi Pip, like you I am 44 and have recently had my first wheelchair delivered! I hid it away in the conservatory so I would not be reminded that it was actually for me! We took it with us on holiday and I have to admit that I used it quite a lot - it let us have much longer days out ( I would not have been able to go to some places and would have had to sit in the car). It was great not to feel totally worn out all the time and the children actually had arguments about who was going to push me! I did start of walking (with hubby pushing empty chair) and hopped in either when I got told to (when I was being stubborn!) or when I just felt like I’d had enough. It really did help us have a better holiday and I felt much more ‘involved’ if you know what I mean. I’m still not entirely comfortable with it but I realise it makes life easier and enables me to go out with everyone else in the family for longer trips or just more comfortable shopping trips. Like Karen said you’ll be amazed at the difference it could make!