Hi, my name is wheelie!

wheelie

Hey, all.

Just quickly to introduce myself.

63 and newly disabled. Not even confirmed by doc but you know when you know. Diabetes my source problem with blood sugar levels leading to foot and then lower leg neuropathy. This means the nerves die. I can't feel them. Not a major issue when just the feet but a little over a year ago it spread to my calfs. It's not the walking as such. It's the lack of balance. I have had many falls last 4-6 months and became largely housebound.

Spent a small fortune on stairlift as falling backwards ain't fun.

A riser recliner so I can get up in the living room, a rollator, 2 walking frames and a power wheel chair. My ability every day seems to differ. Only recently getting outside in wheelchair and much to learn.

👍

Jimm_Scope

Hi @wheelie, welcome to the Scope community 😊 I'm sorry to hear your diabetes is causing more issues here.

It can be so difficult to regain that confidence to go outside when you've been housebound due to falling issues. My grandad has gone through a similar situation in the past, though the problem was he had ear infections causing balance issues.

It sounds like with the wheelchair and frames you are gaining some freedom to go out again however, how does that feel if you don't mind me asking?

Can I just ask, have you looked into contacting your local authority for help with home adaptation? They can often carry out an assessment on your home and help adapt it to your needs.

wheelie

Hi and thanks for message.

Last 10 days has been liberating. I needed some initial support to go out in the chair. Kerbs werey concern. Wrongly it seems. In our very small town in Bassett the ability to go round all the main areas is good. I am now going out on my own when I want to. A few issues but you get round them.

I only recently heard of Occupational Health. They have provided grab rails in the bath/ shower area and just outside front door. Soon to build a ramp/slope to enable me to get the chair outside the front door. Also s couple of 'perching' stools for balance whilst cleaning teeth and cooking. They could have done more but I paid first. Great people and service.

Quite humbled. How a

Bout you and what your challenged might be?

Jimm_Scope

That sounds really good @wheelie, amazing that your local town has pretty good accessibility. I know my local town isn't as good for wheelchair users unfortunately, some very small pavements. Also glad to hear about the recent adaptations to your home. I hope that ramp/slope is sorted out soon, that should make getting out even easier I imagine.

My challenges these days are mostly mental health based. In the past when my Crohn's wasn't in remission I struggled a lot with pain. It would be a struggle to go out, especially as I'd need to ensure there was always a toilet nearby. However I was lucky, I managed to get some treatment that helped put it into remission and now it affects me a lot less than before.