In 2004, my husband Mike had an emergency operation. It didn't go as planned, and he spent eight months in hospital. When he came home, he had lost his mobility and his independence. He was stuck in the house, and we were both overwhelmed and unsure where to turn.
We got there in the end. But we also made just about every mistake our customers make now, and some of them cost us a lot of money. So here's our story, mistakes and all.
Mistake one: a £200 scooter from a backstreet shop
On a holiday at Warner, Mike was in a manual wheelchair, and pushing it on the carpets was hard work. So we bought a second-hand three-wheel scooter from a backstreet shop for about £200. It got us through the holiday, but it wasn't right for him. We didn't know to think about his weight, the weight of the scooter, how we'd get it in and out of the car, or how far it would go.
Mistake two: a Shoprider off Facebook
Next, Mike bought a second-hand Shoprider off Facebook. It came with ramps, and those ramps have been useful for years. (If you want to ramp a scooter into a car, you need an estate with a boot that's level with the floor, with no lip. Lifting a scooter over a lip is hard.) The Shoprider got him out of the house, and that freedom mattered. But it wasn't built for his weight or his height, and it only went a couple of miles on a charge.
Getting it right: our first visit to Active Mobility
We saved for a few months and went to Active Mobility. Mick, who owned the business then, asked about how Mike would use the scooter, how far he'd go, where we'd keep it, and his weight and height. Mike came home with a Sterling Diamond. It was the biggest scooter that would fit in our shed, and he loved it. For the first time, he could go into town on his own, meet friends and feel like himself again.
I'll admit I drove a hard bargain that day. In 2008, after the company I worked for closed, the job centre sent me to a part-time job at Active Mobility. Mick remembered me haggling over Mike's scooter and said he'd rather have me working for him than against him.
What working here taught us about chairs and beds
Before I worked here, Mike had a second-hand riser chair that wasn't big enough, and then one from a cheap mobility shop. Neither lasted. At Active Mobility I learned how much the right size and the right user weight rating matter. The chair we had fitted for Mike lasted him over 10 years, and it has since been replaced with another. Read more in our riser chairs guide.
It was the same with beds. We bought adjustable beds from a high street bed shop, and they lasted about two years. We didn't know about user weight. Then we bought two beds made for each of our weights. Mine is still going strong after more than 15 years, with one new mattress in that time. The cheaper option ended up costing us more.
Where we are now
I've been at Active Mobility since 2008, and today I'm Managing Director. Mike is our Customer Services Director. He runs Stratford Shopmobility, and he's Chairman of The Friends of Stratford Shopmobility, the charity behind it.
He's just bought a ScooterPac Ignite. He takes the dogs round Newbold Common and across the fields, and on one charge he can get to Warwick and back, do the shopping and still walk the dogs twice a day. He says it's the best scooter he's ever had.
What we'd tell you
- Buy for the person, not the price. Weight, height, where you'll go and where you'll keep it all matter.
- Cheap can cost more. Our bargains all needed replacing far sooner than the right equipment did.
- Ask before you buy. Just knowing what's out there is often the first step.
We've been doing this for 25 years, and we'd love to help you avoid the mistakes we made. Call us on 01789 339 738, call first if you'd like to visit the showroom, or book a free home assessment.
Tracy and Mike
