Joseph's story
I consider myself a very fortunate man at 87. My wife and I both have good pensions and we have our children and grandchildren all around us. We've always enjoyed the outdoors - walking and watching sports - but as I got older I noticed a real difference in my mobility. I started to realise that I probably needed a motorised scooter. So, I picked up a leaflet for a firm that supplies them.
The problem is, these people promise the earth. They just want to make a sale - and it's a lot of money that they're talking about. After I made the initial enquiry, they phoned and phoned - they were very persistent. They keep asking, 'are you ready to make a decision yet'
The one we ended up buying is fine for nipping about locally, but it was too heavy to pack in the car. That meant I couldn't go very far. Because it wasn't transportable, I wasn't able to go to visit family or do things that required a bit of a car journey.
That's when we had the idea of speaking to caba. They said that whilst I couldn't access a grant, I could definitely get help from one of their Occupational Therapists. An Occupational Therapist knows all about mobility aids and adaptations, so they can advise you on what would suit your needs most.
A lovely lady came out to the house and took down all my details. She'd heard of the firm that had been pestering us and said that they didn't have a very good reputation. Instead, she suggested a different kind of scooter and recommended a local shop for us to buy it through.
We were advised to get a lightweight scooter that can be dismantled. Now my wife and I can get it in and out of the car ourselves. We've not looked back. We can go to all sorts of family events now. Our weekends have been transformed. We have 2 great-grandchildren that play sport - one football and the other rugby - and we're off all over the county at weekends supporting them. I'd hate to have to miss things like that just because we didn't know which bit of kit to buy.
As I said, we're very lucky to have the support of family, but still, they don't have the same expertise as an Occupational Therapist. I think it's wonderful to have a service where a specialist can advise you.
*Some personal details of this client have been changed to protect their identity