Could Someone With MS Advise Me About Scooters?

5/3/2014

My blogs are usually posted in the 'patient blog' section, but since I have a question to ask we thought placing this blog in the Q&A section for the Virtual MS Center might be more appropriate.

It's been a little while since my last blog due to yet again; medical issues. That being said, we all can relate I'm sure. As you can tell from some of my blogs, I love to travel. My last trip to the Carribbean had its moments, but the negative impact on my physical symptoms was not very positive. This leads me to my next dilemma. Some of the symptoms have not resolved and have caused additional mobility issues for me. I have been planning to take my daughter to Nashville to the country music festival for a year now. I find myself unable to do much walking due to weakness and sudden onset back pain. Mt first thoughts were to look through the blogs for advice and speak with our mobility specialist, Tom Mellor. I placed a call to Tom and within twenty four hours, I received a return call with scooter information and suggested companies that I could find in Tennessee. Although I was not able to rent a GoGo Traveler as he suggested, the company he recommended was very helpful. If my symptoms persist, I will take all of his advice to help me determine what to purchase for the future. Although Tom was extremely helpful, I'm reaching out to my fellow MS patients, bloggers, and caregivers for any tricks and/or tips you can give me about using a scooter...everything from are they safe to leave out of site, to battery function, and beyond. I'm nervous about having to travel with one and I don't want others to be inconvenienced by it. So fellow journey members, is there anything you could add to ease my mind and make this trip more enjoyable? Please write a comment below or send me an email at susansheehanrn@aol.com

--Susan

A BIT ABOUT SUSAN...Susan is a registered nurse who worked in high risk obstetrics at Brigham and Women's for twenty years. She is also a certified nurse paralegal. She is currently not practicing as she is disabled because of MS. She was diagnosed 8 years ago with RRMS and has a daughter who also has MS.

estelle macdonald

5/18/2014 04:39:19 am

The GoGo Scooter ( Pride Company ) has proven to be a life saver for me. There are adjustments to make as you enter the world of scooters naturally but they can be overcome with a positive attitude,little tenacity and perseverance-- (All of which i know you have by your compassionate and uplifting writing). To insure safety from theft-- take the key with you-- no one can start it without the key. They weigh about 30 lbs and the seat folds down so ( with a little bit of help from a friend with a good back and strong legs) its fairly easy to pop it in the trunk or back of an SUV. The batteries on the lightest version of the GoGo have about an 8-10 hr lifespan. The battery charges overnight with the charger that comes with it in a regular rental situation. They don't love running too long on carpet ( shortens the battery length by a bit)... A lot of cities have rentals where they can bring the scooter to your hotel--ready to go and are quite reasonable and i have found them to be very helpful Feel free to contact me if you want to chat more about it.. I decided not to be defined by my mobility issues so this has been a total joy ( if somewhat in need of adjustments)... but then whatever in the world is worth doing if it doesn't take a bit of time to learn and adjust. I wish you the very best. With good energy,estelle

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