Mobility Aids 101 | Tripping On Air
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- From cool canes, to sporty trekking poles, to rollators that are literally transformative, mobility aids make life better…eventually. The transition to progressive MS is hard, and freaking out is a reasonable reaction. Grieve. And when you’re ready, tune in to this month’s episode for tips on how to find the right mobility aids that will work for you.
Tripping on Air is a monthly video podcast that brings Ardra Shephard's part-confessional, part-informational blog Tripping on Air to the podcast airwaves! Ardra and co-host Alex Hajjar discuss what it's like to live with MS, from the best products for those with chronic illness, to successfully navigating a disability benefits claim.
Ardra Shephard is a writer, consultant, and speaker, whose award-winning blog Tripping On Air, enjoys an international reach and reputation.
Ardra is the creator and host of AMI-tv's lifestyle series Fashion Dis. Ardra has a regular column with BezzyMS (Ask Ardra Anything), and is a reporter with LivedHealth where she leads informative and educational conversations with leading MS specialists.
Ardra is on a mission to change minds about what it means to live with chronic illness and to have disability positively reflected as part of a diverse society. Accessible bars in Toronto would also be nice.
Follow Ardra on Twitter: @tripping_onair and Instagram: @ms_trippingonair
Alex Hajjar is the host, producer, and creative overthinker behind Social Animals, a podcast about friendship.
A civil engineering technologist by trade, Alex is also a punk-rock bass guitarist whose hobbies include world travel, hanging with his cat Nacho, and figuring out how to find chill about his beautiful wife Nicole's MS diagnosis.
The Tripping on Air podcast airs monthly on AMI-audio. For more information, visit www.ami.ca/Tripping-On-Air.
I have had RRMS for 14 yrs and only recently I started using a cane and it sure took practice. I was in denial and stubborn for a couple of years before I started using one. At first I tripped over it but I needed it for balance. I felt the same about my husband being embarrased with your wife using a cane. He doesnt give a hoot. I didnt think of his peace of mind. I dont use one at home but out and about I will. Yep, every day is different. I dont go out of the house very often but when i do, i feel safer with my cane. Using a cane is smarter than falling and having a new set of issues!
It was a tough pill to swallow when I needed to start using a rollator. Even a cane was hard. But necessary. 😢
Being sexy is so important for our self esteem. When i buy my pyjama's they have to be sexy.
I, too, was told that most people with MS dont end up in wheelchairs. I think that some of the MS Society's informational literauresaid it, too, when i was diagnosed in 1986. As though needing a wheelchair is thescariest thing about MS (it isn't)! When I first got my beauiful By Acre Carbon Overland rollator with pneumatic wheels, some people looked at me sadly and said, "So, you've given up ongetting better?" All i could say was, "Hell no, Lookat me, I'm **walking@**". One of my docctors looked at the rollator and said, "That's a pretty fancy rig, there. It tells me you're working hard, staying on your feet and getting out. People who give up don't spend a lot of money ontheir equipment." He nay be right; my rollator costs more than twice as much as the medical- looking models you see everywhere And it gets a lot of attention, wverywhere i go. So i think that improves my visibility overall, keeping me from seeming like a doddering old woman. I don't move veryfast, but I think I look good moving slow.
I was sitting on my rollator, wsiting for my spouse ouside a movie theatre recently. A woman came up to e and said, "That walker is really ool! You look like you're sitting on a Lamborghini!" We laughed. Yes, and my other rollator is a Rollz!
I started using mobility aids and the wheelchair because I had become so injured that I needed to let my body heal.
Forget the MS, you can only throw a bag of ice to the ground so many times before it turns to slush.
We may fall because of MS - but we fell!
We need to allow our bodies time to heal from the fall.
💚
Kano makes a folding power chair. It's cute! Perfect for retail and doctor trips. Under 40 pounds.
Definite lifesaver
💚
Such an awesome topic and episode! Y'all are the best!
Thanks for watching!
I use mobility aids and you see my smile, hear my voice and hear my laugh.
The goal of mobility aids isn't to continue to walk - it is to continue to LIVE. That's a big difference between the two.
Just because I can walk - does not mean I will walk with someone. I don't trust many people
My goal is to be present. If someone can't see ME behind the mobility aid - that's a problem.
I'll keep the mobility aid that I need that keeps a smile on my face and me looking people in their eyes.
BE PRESENT
That's all anyone will really remember about you anyway.
Show the world YOU, and they won't remember the mobility aid.
I love this…”the goal isn’t to continue to walk, it’s to continue to live”
Well said. 👏
Heck yes. I still think in my head " Its just a walking stick. I will look cool" but then I try to go eat somewhere and the stares for people to wrap their minds around it. I get it. I am not trying to change what others around me think anymore but I can change how I feel or think. Stay in my own "lane" of thinking. Be grateful I am not falling and my knees are not messed up for my lack of balance. They don't need to know my story because I know my story and try to own it. I have to keep going and so does all my fellow MS warriors.
I got 5 mobility aids for FREE for different sources. 2 canes, 1 walker, 2 rollators. I have MS and was just diagnosed with FND. Functional Neurological Disorder which is rare and has a lot of the same symptoms as MS. I didnt want to use a cane, nevermind a rollator, but i was spending too much energy from trying to walk and not fall that i had no energy left for anything else. ENERGY CONSERVATION leaves more energy for stretching or strengthening exercises. My PT suggested i use a walker of some sort.
When i have to carry a glass & bowl of saladI have to use a cane & if i dont have to carry anything, i use a rollator. Choices!
If i fall, I'll have a whole new set of problems so trying to avoid that! I have fallen so many times before i started using a mobility decive. No falls since then.
I thought i had drop foot but it was a dorsiflextion issue. My PT has me concentrating on heel toe walking.
My neurologist just told me i need a cane and sent me on my way! Luckily my PT is well versed in this.
Love this, still listening and may have more comments but the baby stroller thing. 💯!
I had so much more ease and confidence when I got to push my kids around in a stroller. Like you said it helped me go for longer walks.
Vibing with everything in this podcast. My diagnosing neurologist told me I had the “good kind” of MS and that I shouldn’t ever need a wheelchair or cane. So two years later when I relapsed and needed a cane at 22 years old; I felt like a total failure. It took years to work through those feelings. ❤🙌🧡
Right?! Gah. Thanks for sharing your experience! So many of us deal with this.
I don't know how often you read your comments but wanted to connect.
Watched this episode yesterday and wanted to thank you for the discussion and the connection to PrairieVelo. I would love to talk to Suzanne to find out if I'd be a good candidate for one of the rollators. I fear I may not be, but better to talk to an expert rather than make an assumption. Because we all know what that leads to. Looking forward to watching upcoming episodes.
Best,
Lisa
Thanks for watching, Lisa. I hope a Rollator can work for you!
@@MStrippingonair You and me both. Reaching out to Suzanne today.
Thank you! That was excellent
Thanks for watching! I’m so glad you found this helpful.
Knee scooters are great!
I am not familiar with knee scooters. Thanks for the tip!