Susan Macauley Gets a New Wheelchair

My name is Susan Macauley and I volunteer at people first 2 days a week. I am also a director of the organisation.

I have always needed a wheel chair. When I was young I had to be pushed everywhere or lifted and carried.

I want to tell you about my new wheelchair which is great because it gives me more independence and I can do so much more with it. It is more comfortable and also it can go up and down curbs. I feel proud to be able to get myself about. I used to have manual wheelchairs; it was a lot of hard work to get about. Then I got an electric wheelchair that felt great. It was so much easier but as time went on I became uncomfortable in the chairs my legs would get tired of hanging down and bits would fall off the chairs… a bit like any type of equipment

I used to have to get a mechanic out to fix or repair the chairs if no-one could come out I would be stuck which was very bad news. Once, when I was at college and getting some lunch in the cafeteria I got the control knob of my chair stuck under the self service counter and couldn’t move at all. Eventually somebody had to take the pin out of the wheel and pull me backwards to free me. By then the motor had burnt out. That was the end of the wheelchair.

My new chair comes from the hospital. It is battery operated with easy to use controls and is very manoeuvrable. I can go sideways as well as doing a neat 3 point turn, it is very comfortable and the footrest and seat tip up so my legs don’t ache as much.

The first big outing in my new chair was to go to Beamish with People First in September. As I followed behind the group, I couldn’t see much but the back view of other people’s bums. I thought why should I be always in the back and I drove myself to the front of the group and lead the way for a change. I took off down the pathway and really enjoyed doing the hill, maybe a little too fast, it was great. I felt free and independent. I was able to get a lift around the site off an old tram which had a lift. I enjoyed the day and especially being able to get into shops because the chair can do curbs and small steps. I just want to share how good I felt and how I enjoyed my freedom.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 17th, 2010 at 10:50 am and is filed under Members Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can share your thoughts here.