In October 2018, I was able to privately purchase a new powered wheelchair, replacing my worn-out 8 year-old Quantum 600 mid-wheel drive.
My old Quantum 600 MWD wheelchair
I opted for a Sunrise You-Q Luca, mainly due to it’s compact and manoeuvrable design.
My Sunrise You-Q Luca RWD wheelchair
I chose a rear-wheel drive (having found my mid-wheel drive Quantum to be less capable over rough terrain).
I received a voucher from NHS Wheelchair Services to the value of £1750, and a £2,500 grant from the Joseph Patrick Trust.
The total cost of the chair was just over £7,000. A huge expense, but compared to most other powered wheelchairs on the market, the You-Q Luca is definitely one of the cheapest options!
I really wanted flip-up armrests on my new wheelchair to make transferring easier. However, over the past year, the soft foam pads on the armrests have slowly disintegrated.
Bearing in mind how expensive this equipment is, and how long it took to raise the necessary funds, I take good care of my wheelchair!
I have repeatedly attempted to patch-up the armrest pads with super glue. But they are now in a state of non-repair.
Considering the price and the fact that the wheelchair is only 15 months old, I am really shocked and disappointed with the product.
The wheelchair itself is great. The armrest pads are total crap!
I bought the wheelchair from a company called Better Mobility.
I cannot fault their customer service or the assessor who bought a number of demo chairs to my home to try prior to purchase. He was very knowledgeable, patient and not at all pushy (as some sales rep’s can be).
However, I find the quality of the armrest pads to be extremely poor.
As you will see from the image below, to replace them will cost an additional £83.40 – a rather hefty sum to replace an item on a relatively new powered wheelchair!
I am reluctant to pay the £83.40 to replace the armrest pads, particularly as they are likely to disintegrate again within a few months. In the meantime, I am left with an unsightly product that is literally falling to pieces.
On 30thMay, a determined group of individuals set off on a truly inspirational challenge to become the first amputees to conquer Mount Snowdon. The team, consisting of 18 amputees from around the UK, were led by Paul Clark, who lost his leg as a result of a bone infection following surgery in 2014. Accompanying him was Leigh Joy-Staines, Co-Founder of the voluntary charity STEEL BONES, which works to connect, support and inspire amputee families across the UK to overcome the trauma of amputation.
I was fortunate to interview both Paul and Leigh, prior to their challenge. Here is what they had to say…
1.Leigh, can you please tell Disability Horizons readers a little about yourself and your disability?
I was born with clubfoot (talipes) and had about 30 operations before the age of 5 to try to rectify them. The Doctors did the best they could at the time. I managed to get through school with just a few more operations, and lived a relatively ‘normal’ life. I was always in quite a lot of pain but this didn’t stop me, as I just loved playing sports and so I didn’t care about the pain.
I was bullied a lot but luckily had fantastic, grandparents, parents, cousins and friends who stuck by me and gave me the strength I needed inside to keep going. It impacted massively on my anxiety but I hung onto those people around me. Looking back, I was actually quite a popular kid. I just let the nasty name calling go over my head.
I left school early and started working immediately. I always worked hard and partied hard at weekends. But at the age of 23, after working a job with a long commute which involved a lot of walking, I couldn’t take the pain any longer. I then went to see my GP who referred me to an orthopaedic surgeon at Guys Hospital (London).
The surgeon seemed to think it would be a simple operation to put things right. Unfortunately, he hadn’t completed the proper pre-operative checks and didn’t have my notes in the operation. [As a result] he severed my last remaining artery and the nurses didn’t realise the foot’s blood supply was cut off until it was too late. All I remember is my girlfriend (now wife) turning up with my mates to take me home, and I was rushed into an ambulance.
The team at St Thomas’ Hospital were amazing. It became a second home for me since I was there for 5 months whilst they tried to save the leg, and then whilst I learnt to walk again. Since the amputation, I’ve had lots of problems with my stump (which I call JOYBOY) such as neuromas, spurs and infections. My other leg is also now disintegrating as it has taken a lot of pressure since the amputation. I’m now working with some excellent surgeons and physiotherapists to hopefully rebuild it, otherwise I will have to lose that leg too.
Emma and Leigh Joy-Staines
2. You are one of the founders of STEEL BONES. Why did you decide to establish the charity?
We had no proactive support at the time of amputation. My girlfriend (now wife) and I just tried to pretend everything was fine and ‘normal’. We didn’t take stock of what had actually happened. I’m still dealing with the trauma and am only just really accepting what happened – It was such a huge shock. When you still want to be the lad about town but your body fails, it breaks you. But, I’ve held on tightly to my family.
We phoned several amputee charities asking for support, but none came through. We felt so lonely and isolated, particularly once our children arrived. Our son Teddy was being asked lots of questions: ‘Why isn’t your daddy strong?’ and, ‘Why does he wear a boot?’
This really hit us hard as we didn’t know how to deal with the outside world, only our little unit. So, we decided to start meeting other amputee families.
It all started with a Facebook group and it’s gone from strength-to-strength.
We have met so many amazing people and it gives us great motivation to know that we are not alone. The charity focuses on the entire family, and not solely the amputee, because an amputation affects the entire family unit including friends too.
We provide support packs and create friendships with families to ensure they have the tools and advice they need to achieve their goals. We also run a weekly fitness club and an amputee football club with Cambridge United Trust and Cambridge FA. Furthermore, we are launching a series of children’s books based on amputee family stories. We also run a schools workshop programme with ‘If Not Me Inclusion Coaching’, which focuses on inclusive sports and raising awareness of amputees.
These projects are very close to our hearts as we know the impact they make. We hope to avoid what our son endured in his first couple years at school, and to ensure no amputee family feels isolated. We also have an events programme that all amputee families are welcome to join.
Our biggest event of the year takes place on 29th July 2018 in Cambridgeshire. To find out more join our Facebook group: STEEL BONES or sign up to our mailing list http://steelbone.co.uk
3. Can you tell us exactly what this particular challenge involves?
The challenge involves a group of amazing amputee families climbing
Mount Snowdon. We have been training for the past 6 months and have endured falls, knocks, sores, blisters, aches and pains. Despite this, the hugely inspirational group has kept on going. It is just so exciting to see them achieve this incredible goal.
STEEL BONES is entirely voluntary so the funds raised by this go directly to amputee families in the UK. It provides a lifeline by putting on more clubs, events and proactively supporting the amputee community.
4. Paul Clark, you’re heading the challenge to climb Mount Snowdon in May. How and why did you first become involved with STEEL BONES?
After my amputation on 30th May 2016, it was a very hard and lonely time for myself and my family. We didn’t know who to turn to for help and support and we felt very isolated. We didn’t know what support we could get or where to even start looking. We found there to be a big lack of understanding in the public and government as to what amputation means for an individual and their family.
We came across the STEEL BONES Facebook group and realised they were local, and had been in a very similar situation to us when Leigh lost his leg. They were offering free help and support to amputees and their families, so we contacted them for some advice.
Their support from day one was fantastic. Not only did they give us advice on who to contact regarding different matters, they also helped from with forms, letters and so on until we were sorted. Their support didn’t stop after this – they continue to support myself and my family with information and advice. They have also introduced us to many new friends in the same situation. It has become one big happy amputee family!
Paul Clark, who led the team of amputees in their challenge to climb Mount Snowdon
5. Where did the idea come from?
My wife and I have always wanted to climb Mount Snowdon, so we said let’s still do it and raise money for STEEL BONES to thank them. The money raised will allow them to continue supporting other amputees and their families throughout the UK.
6. What are you hoping to achieve as a result of the challenge you have set for yourselves?
Not only is this a personal goal of ours, and a massive challenge, we also hope to promote amputee awareness throughout the UK. We want people to be aware that just because I have lost a limb, it doesn’t make me any different, and I can still overcome challenges like anyone else.
I have managed to get a great team to join me on this amazing adventure, and it’s great that I have managed to pull together a group of amputees from around the UK. Not only will this bond us as a group, it will challenge us all and show that amputees can do anything, whilst also raising a fantastic amount of money for STEEL BONES.
Show your support for the team and make a donation by clicking here.
Here is my interview with Matt Hampson for Disability Horizons
With less than a month to go before the return of Parallel London (an all inclusive fun run and festival), I spoke to ambassador Matt Hampson about his involvement, and why the event is so important to him.
Matt “Hambo” Hampson is a former England Rugby Union prop who, at the age of 20, was paralysed in a near-fatal routine scrum session. Despite having severed his spinal cord in the accident (which took place twelve years ago in Northampton) Matt is now busier than ever and living life to the full as a C4/5 tetraplegic.
In 2011, Matt decided to establish a charitable foundation in his name, to inspire and support others who have suffered similar catastrophic sports injuries.
A mentor, fund-raiser, columnist, award-winning author, rugby coach, patron and ambassador; Matt truly epitomises the foundation’s ethos – ‘Get Busy Living’.
Sport, Injury & Disability
1. Hi Matt, would you please tell Disability Horizons readers a little about your sporting background and your subsequent disability?
I had my accident back in 2005 playing for the England Under 21s. I suffered a dislocated neck in a scrummaging accident, and had to be resuscitated on the pitch by the referee (and former paramedic) that day Tony Spreadbury.
My life obviously changed forever. One minute I was a young, fit sportsman and the next I was paralysed from the neck down. It was pretty tough to deal with. But it’s made me the person I am today and I think it happened for a reason. And that was to set up the Matt Hampson Foundation, which aims to inspire and support young people seriously injured through sport.
2. How did you adapt to no longer being able to participate in sport as you had previously?
It was quite difficult but I think I tried to channel my energy into something productive, which was to try and focus on something that I could do rather than what I can’t. So now I do my motivational speeches, I see beneficiaries and I try to use my profile to influence and help other people in similar situations to the one I found myself in twelve years ago.
Charity
3. Can you tell us about the Matt Hampson Foundation – how and why did you set it up?
I set the foundation up because when I was in hospital I felt there wasn’t enough support out there for people in the same situation as myself. I felt quite isolated. I think the Matt Hampson Foundation aims to get individuals and families together and show them that there is life after serious injury through sport. It also tries to motivate them to ultimately ‘get busy living’ (an ethos inspired by Matt’s favourite film, The Shawshank Redemption).
4. ‘Get busy living’ is the ethos of the Matt Hampson Foundation, which aims to inspire and support young people seriously injured through sport. How do you achieve this?
We try to show people there is a life beyond their injury and that you can live a great and fulfilled life even with a catastrophic injury. Everyone has X amount of time on this planet, so why not enjoy it.
So yeah, we try and use ‘Get busy living’ as the sort of ethos around the foundation.
Disabled People & Sport
5. What are your thoughts on involving disabled people in sport?
I think after the Paralympics in 2012, it changed the world of disabled sport forever. I think people started looking at disabled sports people as proper sports men and women rather than feeling sorry for them, and almost letting them participate as a sort of afterthought and a token gesture. I think the Paralympics in London really showed that and put them on a level playing field with able-bodied athletes.
Parallel London Ambassador
6. How and why did you become an ambassador for Parallel London?
It’s to put people on a level playing field, whatever their disability – whether you’re able-bodied, in a wheelchair, young or old – anyone can participate in Parallel London.
I think it’s so, so important to know that you can do things and be alongside disabled people, able-bodied people and all be on a level playing field.
7. What does Parallel London mean to you personally, and how does it promote disability and diversity within sport?
Parallel London to me means inclusivity. So basically, trying to get everybody involved whatever their background, ethnicity or disability – all can be involved with, and contribute to Parallel London. It just shows that everybody is equal, and for a day it makes people realise that.
On 30th May, a determined group of individuals set off on a truly inspirational challenge to become the first amputees to conquer Mount Snowdon. The team, consisting of 18 amputees from around the UK, were led by Paul Clark, who lost his leg as a result of a bone infection following surgery in 2014. Accompanying him was Leigh Joy-Staines, Co-Founder of the voluntary charity STEEL BONES, which works to connect, support and inspire amputee families across the UK to overcome the trauma of amputation.
