Shattering stigmas around walking aids

0:00
about three months later I went back to
0:02
the same group meeting
0:03
and she came in and she just went
0:07
[Laughter]
0:10
[Music]
0:18
spent such a lot of time
0:21
you know being able to not being able to
0:23
be with friends
0:26
to be part of
0:27
um be part of groups again if you have a
0:30
walker and you walk with with the walker
0:33
with confidence because you are balanced
0:35
on both sides
0:37
and you're walking straighter you're
0:39
walking faster you can go when when you
0:42
want to go
0:43
you can go places that you want to go to
0:46
you actually feel better within yourself
0:49
you feel confident
0:51
you feel the freedom of your own life
0:55
and in control of your own life rather
0:58
than having to worry about having to
1:00
always ask and that's hard and then
1:03
again you're not feeling that age
1:06
feeling of of having equipment that's
1:09
going to make you feel because it
1:10
doesn't it actually is the opposite you
1:13
think that but it's really the opposite
1:15
so the scooters and the power chairs and
1:18
the Walkers and the walking sticks will
1:22
just be amazing for you it's incredible
1:24
to see somebody that has been isolated
1:28
for so long
1:30
to be able to all of a sudden to be back
1:33
in their Community I mean it's the girl
1:35
at the MS group meeting she was probably
1:39
25 she had a little child as well and a
1:42
two-year-old and her mum came with her
1:45
and she just bursts into tears she sat
1:47
down she said I can't I just don't want
1:49
to do this and her mum was explaining to
1:52
her about the safety side of it we
1:55
talked about it and I said look just
1:58
have a feel with it walk up with it and
2:02
and just see how you feel walking I said
2:04
you don't have to use it all the time it
2:06
can be folded up and put in your bag you
2:09
don't need to bring it out all the time
2:10
it doesn't need to be on you all the
2:11
time but it does need to be there to
2:14
support you when you need it so she got
2:17
out and she walked up and down with her
2:19
she was a little bit still and easy with
2:21
it about three months later I went back
2:24
to the same group meeting
2:26
and she came in and she just went
2:29
[Laughter]
2:35
she just felt so more supportive she'd
2:37
been to so many more places she'd been
2:39
on walks with her family
2:41
she'd done the things that she'd wanted
2:43
to do because she felt supported and she
2:46
said I don't even recognize that I've
2:48
got it now
2:50
and she said nobody actually knows it
2:52
was just all me