Guest Post - Mobility Aids

Happy New Year everyone! Have you made a New Year's resolution this year? Today I'm introducing Emma, who is a blogger at Rock for Disability. Emma has written a fantastic blog post about the different mobility aids she uses.

Thank you, Emma. Over to you...

Hello, my name is Emma Purcell, I’m 26 years old and live in Alton, Hampshire. I have quadriplegic cerebral palsy and registered blind. I’m the blogger of Rock For Disability and a freelance writer at online magazine Disability Horizons.

In this guest blog post, I would like to share five mobility aids that I use when carrying out personal care and accessing areas in my home

1. Ceiling hoist

As I am unable to walk, stand or weight bare at all, I use a ceiling hoist to transfer between bed, toilet, shower and wheelchair.

I would describe it has a human crane. I get attached by a sling then raised up and moved across my bedroom. I admit it isn’t always the comfiest way to transfer but definitely the safest for both me and my carers.

2. Shower/toileting chair

I have a specialist chair designed for my size and posture.

When using the toilet, it has a hole underneath my bottom and it simply goes over the toilet where I then do my business.

For the shower I have an adapted wetroom where I siply roll into the shower in my chair. It can also be reclined for more comfort and prevents water on my face when rinsing my hair.

3. Profiling bed

I have specialist electric bed, which I use to sleep on, get dressed and do physio.

It is basically a hospital bed but a bit more fancier. It can raise up and down for the right height for the carer. It can raise up the top half to allow me sit up in the night and also has a leg raiser too.

4. Sleep system

Due to my bad hips, pelvis and spine, I have to sleep on my back with a sleep system.

The aim of it is to keep my body and posture as straight and secure throughout the night.

The sleep system consists of:

• A memory foam matress topper

• A ‘W’ shaped knee block

• Sausage shaped cushion under my feet

• Six side bracket supports

5. Powered wheelchair

And as I’ve already mentioned above, I’m a wheelchair user. With the exception of toileting, showering and sleeping, I’m always in my wheelchair.

I got my first powered wheelchair aged 3 through a charity. Since then, I’ve been given a numerous number of NHS wheelchairs.

My current wheelchair is a Spectra XTR, which I’ve had since 2014 but had my seating changed back in 2018.

As well as driving, I can tilt, recline and raise the wheelchair too.

I hope this brief overview of my mobility aids gives a better understanding on how some disabled people carry out every day tasks in their homes.

Thank you Ailsa for inviting me to be a guest blogger.

To find out more about me and view more of my work, visit my blog Rock For Disability and follow me on Facebook & Twitter.