“I Don't Want a Mobility Scooter!” Why So Many People Put Off Getting Mobility Equipment

“I don't need one of those.”

It's a sentence we hear quite often.

Sometimes it's a mobility scooter. Sometimes it's a walking stick, a rollator or a wheelchair.

A family member has noticed that Mum or Dad isn't getting around quite as easily as they used to. They suggest something that might help and the answer is an immediate and very definite no.

And actually, we understand it.

For somebody who has spent their whole life walking wherever they want to go, the idea of using mobility equipment can feel like a much bigger step than simply buying a new piece of equipment.

It can feel like admitting that something has changed.

But we often find that once people start using the right mobility equipment, they look at things rather differently.

“I'm not old enough for a mobility scooter”

Age has remarkably little to do with whether a mobility scooter is useful.

We have customers of all different ages and with all sorts of reasons for needing some help with mobility.

The better question is whether difficulty walking is stopping you doing something you would otherwise like to do.

Perhaps you can comfortably walk around the house but a trip into town is becoming difficult.

Maybe you can walk for ten minutes perfectly well, but after twenty minutes you're exhausted.

Or perhaps pain, breathlessness or poor balance means you spend the whole time worrying about how far you still have to walk.

None of those things has much to do with the number on your birthday cake.

“If I start using one, I'll stop walking”

This is a very common concern.

And it's an understandable one.

If you're still able to walk, remaining active is generally a good thing. Nobody should automatically stop walking simply because they have bought a mobility scooter.

But owning a scooter doesn't mean you have to use it for every journey.

You might walk around the house, walk to the local shop and continue doing all the shorter journeys you're comfortable with.

The scooter might only come out when you're going somewhere that involves much more walking.

Think about a large garden centre, a day out with the family or a trip into town.

Without the scooter, you might decide not to go at all.

With it, you can still get out and enjoy the day.

It doesn't have to replace walking. It can simply extend how far you're able to go.

“People will look at me differently”

This one isn't always said out loud.

For some people, using a mobility scooter, wheelchair or walking aid feels like making their mobility problem visible to everybody else.

A person may have lived with arthritis, pain or another condition for years without anybody noticing.

Sit on a mobility scooter and suddenly it feels obvious.

That can take a little getting used to.

But the reality is that most people are far less interested in your mobility scooter than you imagine they are.

And we'd argue that being able to join your family for a day out, visit the shops or carry on going to the places you enjoy is rather more important than what a stranger might think about how you got there.

“I can still walk”

You don't have to be unable to walk to benefit from mobility equipment.

In fact, many of our mobility scooter customers can walk.

The problem is distance.

There's a huge difference between being able to walk across your living room and being able to walk around Cambridge for three hours.

Likewise, somebody may be perfectly capable of walking into a restaurant but struggle with the distance from a large car park.

A scooter, wheelchair or rollator can be used when it's useful and left at home when it isn't.

There isn't a test you have to pass before you're officially allowed to use one.

“They're enormous things, aren't they?”

Some are.

A large road-going mobility scooter is a substantial piece of equipment. They're designed for comfort, range and travelling longer distances.

But mobility scooters come in all shapes and sizes.

Small boot scooters can dismantle into several pieces and fit into the back of a car.

There are folding scooters that take up remarkably little space.

Then there are mid-sized pavement scooters and larger road scooters for people who want greater comfort, suspension and range.

If the only mobility scooter you can picture is the large one you've seen driving along the side of the road, it's worth seeing what else is available.

You might be surprised.

“I don't want the house filling up with mobility equipment”

Neither do we.

One of the reasons good advice matters is that the answer isn't to buy every mobility aid in the catalogue.

The aim should be to find the smallest or simplest solution that actually solves the problem.

Sometimes that's a mobility scooter.

Sometimes it's a rollator that gives somebody a little more confidence and somewhere to sit down when they need a rest.

It might be a walking stick, a wheelchair for occasional days out or something as simple as a grab rail at home.

Good mobility equipment should fit into your life, not take it over.

“My family keeps nagging me about it”

This can make things worse.

We've met plenty of people who arrive at the showroom because their son, daughter or partner has decided they need a mobility scooter.

The person who is actually going to use it is considerably less enthusiastic.

It's worth remembering whose independence we're talking about.

If you're worried about Mum or Dad, rather than telling them what they need, try asking what they're finding difficult.

Are they going out less?

Have they stopped going somewhere they used to enjoy?

Do they avoid trips because they know there will be too much walking?

Would they like to be able to go further without worrying about getting back?

Starting with what somebody wants to do tends to be much more useful than starting with the equipment you think they should have.

Mobility equipment doesn't have to mean less independence

This is perhaps the biggest misconception of all.

People sometimes see mobility equipment as evidence that they're losing their independence.

Very often, we see exactly the opposite.

• If you can only comfortably walk a short distance, your world can gradually become smaller without you really noticing.

• You stop going into town.

• You turn down a day out because you know there will be lots of walking.

• You stay in the car while somebody else pops into the shop.

• You stop going somewhere you've enjoyed for years because getting from the car park to the entrance has become too difficult.

That's a loss of independence.

If a mobility scooter allows you to start doing those things again, we'd say it's giving you some of that independence back.

You don't have to decide you're a “mobility scooter person”

There is no such thing.

Buying a mobility scooter doesn't mean you've crossed some invisible line.

It doesn't mean you have to use it every day.

And it certainly doesn't mean you can't carry on walking whenever you want to.

It's just a tool.

You probably don't think twice about driving somewhere that's too far to walk. A mobility scooter is simply another way of getting from A to B when walking the whole distance isn't practical.

Use it when it makes life easier.

Leave it at home when it doesn't.

Come and try one without buying one

If you're unsure about mobility equipment, our advice is very simple.

Try it.

At Fen Mobility Centre in Ely, you're welcome to come into the showroom and try different mobility scooters, wheelchairs, rollators and other equipment without any obligation to buy anything.

• Drive a small boot scooter.

• Try a bigger scooter.

• See whether you like a rollator.

Ask questions.

You may decide you aren't ready for one yet, and that's absolutely fine.

Our showroom is led by an experienced Occupational Therapist, so our starting point isn't simply, “Which scooter can we sell you?”

We want to understand what you're finding difficult and what you'd like to be able to do.

Sometimes a mobility scooter is the answer.

Sometimes something much simpler will do the job.

And sometimes the answer is that you don't need anything at all yet.

But if you've stopped doing things you enjoy simply because walking has become too difficult, don't dismiss mobility equipment because of what you think it represents.

The right piece of equipment shouldn't make your world smaller.

It should help make it bigger again.