People actually think, and even worse, say getting a mobility aid means you've given up? That's like saying my getting glasses at age 6 was "giving up."

We need to start normalizing making pretty, cute, decorated mobility aids. I’m under 18, but the second I get myself a rollator I WILL decorate it as much I want and I WILL buy it in pink.

I recently broke down and got a shower chair which changed my life. The ability to just sit and wash my body without getting extremely exhausted and passing out is incredible (thank you POTS 🙄) and CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome). I'm looking for a walker chair now because it will help andI'm tired of hiding in the house. Thank you for sharing your story. Much love from Oklahoma!

Exactly! To me, "giving up" is not bothering to get a mobility aid and resigning yourself to just staying home all the time. Getting the mobility aid means the opposite of giving up.

"Giving up" is not going to pride, not going to the convention, not going shopping, not going to the party the zoo the aquarium the fireworks, etc. and resigning yourself to stay home for the rest of your life because of the pain. I was too ashamed for a long time to use a wheelchair because i didn't feel "disabled enough" but if you're missing out on things because of your disability you would definitely benefit from a mobility aid. I've used my wheelchair a few times now and i feel free, happy, and way less disabled than i did without it. Your mobility aid series and channel at large really helped me reach this stage of my life and i'm very grateful.

I was absolutely astounded the first time I used my wheelchair in a large store. Previously, I'd just tried to rely on leaning heavily on a cart, but usually ended up getting super lightheaded around half way through the store, followed by regretting my life choices. I was actually outpacing my friend who usually goes shopping with me and I didn't feel like crap afterwards. Such a wonderful feeling!

Your channel has helped me be more comfortable with my disability (even naming it so is a big step!) And I bought a cane for a trip coming up to help with long walks or standing that hurt my back and I'm so excited to see how it goes! Thank you Jessica, you're such a treasure!

Oh boy here we GO! My sister started using a manual wheelchair in middle school, and she upgraded to a motorized chair in high school. To an outsider, it might seem like her disability is getting worse, and while she’s not a little kid anymore and she needs more assistance than she used to, that’s not at all how we see it. For her, an ambulatory user who has very limited control of the left side of her body, it was a HUGE game-changer. Totally worth the cost of the chair! And last year we got a van with an automatic ramp. It’s not cheap, but fortunately we’re in a position that we can afford these aids, and each step has done so much to boost my sister’s confidence, comfort, and autonomy.

The most frustrating part of this for me is, I know a mobility aid would help me in so many ways. But I also know that my family would judge me to death for using it. I've tried explaining how challenging things are for me and the conversation just turns into "why aren't your meds working" to which I respond "they are working they just aren't a cure" this concept seems completely lost on my abled family and I'm just at the point where I've excepted that my quality of life is going to be limited until I move out.

Getting a mobility aid means gaining power. Great subject for a video Jessica x

As a physical therapist the idea of someone saying you are "giving up" by getting the help you need and taking care of yourself, your needs and getting to be more involved in you own life just makes my blood boil!! Thanks for helping educate and spread awareness👏

The fact that someone would tell another person that getting a mobility aid (or any kind of health/quality of life aid) is “giving up” is just insane.

I had my GP tell me that I was giving up when I told her I felt it was time I start using a wheelchair. She didn't think I needed one because I always looked fine when I was in her office. She missed the fact that I had to get a taxi to go the 350 meters from my house to her office. Then I had a pain specialist in one of the biggest hospitals in the country tell me I didn't need a wheelchair because being able to stand and walk for 10 minutes at a time was "plenty." Nevermind that I had to walk more than 10 minutes just to get to my bus stop. Then I had another GP tell me that I'm too young to be using a wheelchair and that we should work on getting me out of it. I haven't used my wheelchair at all the last few years, mostly because I haven't left my house much because of Covid. But hearing those things from doctors just makes it all so much harder.

My little brother took a cane on his last class trip, to help him stay on his feet all day. He doesn't have anything diagnosed, so he told me he felt guilty when a guy on the underground gave up his seat for him. I think I'll forward this video to him

This video came at the perfect time for me. Though I've been disabled for 24 years, I just used a wheelchair for the first time last weekend to get around a convention. It was so wonderful to be able to enjoy the event instead of gritting my teeth through pain the whole time. I didn't have to spend days in bed afterward as my "punishment" for doing something fun. Now I wish I'd started using an aid years ago. This video really reassured me in the wake of the few remaining hesitations I had after trying out the wheelchair. Thank you so much for your empowering content!

Crying at "disability is not an innately bad thing" thanks lesbian mom ❤

I just picked up my first custom made wheelchair as an ambulatory user. It was a huge decision to make, but I love the independence it's given me already.

Every friend and spouse/partner of someone with a disability or mobility impairment HAS TO SEE THIS! I'm so tired of the ppl in my life saying things like, "Why do you need that, you can walk just fine!" No, sunshine, I can walk until l can't and I don't want to be in a position where I pushed myself too hard and then I'm stuck. Even the greeter at our Walmart gave me the very obvious slow updown to internally determine if I was actually disabled enough to ask for a scooter. I just looked at him and said, "It must be nice to be able to stand on your feet all day and judge people!" I was taught to keep my mouth shut, but he made me so angry! I'm so tired of it and my joints and feet are in so much pain! I have a rollator for big events like the occasional comic expo and use a cane almost 100% of the time now. I'd like to start using either the rollator or a wheelchair but that judgment, especially from my own family really hurts.

I've very recently started using a mobility aid (a very snazzy and stylish walking stick!) and it's been such a great addition to my life. I now actually have energy left when I come home after a shopping trip or outing, and I don't have to worry much about dizziness, because if I get dizzy I have something to lean on that helps me keep my balance. 😍

I got my first rollator recently and it's given me so much freedom dealing with my severe, chronic back pain. Instead of focusing on the pity I keep getting, I'm decorating it with spray paint, glitter, and custom accessories 😊

As always, thank you. I got my first manual wheelchair the summer before Covid, which helped immensely with my job as a teacher, and a custom one this past winter. Having a wheelchair that fits is so much better and I have a lot more energy! Finally with Covid in a slight period of abeyance I am actually getting out and about to events, and enjoying myself. That's something I hadn't been able to do in years. Yes, I can stand and walk - a lot of the time, but I cannot stand easily or safely sometimes, and I cannot walk very far ever even with crutches. I rarely stand or walk in front of my students because it alarms them when I am in pain or actually fall. The wheelchair was my act of defiance because it has kept me able to work at a job I love instead of having to quit and stay home. Giving up? No. Getting out and enjoying myself a lot more? YES!

I'm such a big fan of mobility aids. If they make your life easier, then how can it ever be bad to get one? I've been an ambulatory wheelchair user since I was 15, and without it I wouldn't have been able to go to school. These days I can't leave my house at all, and I can't use my wheelchair indoors because my arms are too weak to push myself, so my wheelchair doesn't get used much, but I now get around my home with a cane and a rollator and they save me a lot of energy.

4:44 omfg, this mentality almost killed my mom when she needed dialysis! And she's still fighting against getting a mobility aid because of cultural stigma.

One of my favourite quotes by a musician I love is "sometimes, decisively giving up is the bravest thing you can do." He said it in the context of comforting someone who had given up on their dream, and it really changed how I look at giving up. Giving up, choosing battles, accepting defeat, it takes an enormous amount of courage to choose what to do. While I don't think using a mobility aid is giving up, I also don't think people need to be hard on themselves when they do give up on something.

Oh this. So much this. Mobility aids changed my condition management and quality of life completely for the better and I wish more people realised that! 💜

Nodding along so much with this. I wear glasses because they help me see better. I use a walking stick and a mobility scooter because they help me get about better. What's the difference!? No one has a problem with the glasses, but everyone has things to say about the stick and scooter. When I bought my mobility scooter, I absolutely wasn't giving up. completely the opposite. It gave me more freedom, more independence. I love it!

When I got my first wheelchair, I called it my freedom chariot. It opened the world back up to me. I was no longer limited to destinations where I could park directly in front of the entrance. And I could go on “walks” again.

Absolutely perfect timing. I just got a mobility scooter and I am a bit insecure about it but you get me right over that hurdle. Me and my joints thank you

I've been debating on creating a GoFundMe to get an electric wheelchair for months but I can feel like "it's not really necessary" but the truth is that I don't go out at all and not having an electric wheelchair is keeping me isolated 😔 and then the factor of having to ask strangers for money feels super weird :(

This make me feel so much better about using my crutches when I need them for lowering my pain to a bearable level while I "technically" could still walk without them. Thank you.

“Giving up” is actually just deciding that if you can’t do something without a mobility aid, you’re not going to do it. 🤦‍♀️ Also: “if it’s annoying to use, you don’t need it” is such good advice. I usually say, “My cane is more trouble than it’s worth, until it’s not.” And that just means that sometimes you need it and sometimes you don’t.

I have fibro, I have lots of really good days, people see me more on my really good days. On my bad days my legs hurt and feel like lead and I can deal with a lot of vertigo. Rest and NOT pushing my body beyond gentle exercise is what my body needs to get to the good days. My husband and I have talked recently about getting me a wheel chair for when bad days meet needed movement. Especially since I have a painful surgery coming up that could make me flare badly. I know there are parts of my family that are going to judge, judge, judge. But they also tend to be the same people that keep asking when I will be going back to work. The answer is never, Uncle J, N.E.V.E.R.

A mobility aid doesn’t mean you’ve given up. It means you’re just getting started. I love the videos.

This video means so much to me. I recently got a walking cane to help manage my postural tachycardia syndrome. Having something to lean on helps me get to a safe place more easily if I’m about to faint, as well as helping with balance. It has made a huge difference to my confidence while being out by myself, but I’ve also dealt with some backlash and mean comments from strangers who think a young, otherwise healthy-appearing person shouldn’t have a cane. I’m so glad to have this video to show my family so they might understand a little better. My cane does give me more freedom and hearing you explain that so eloquently brought me to tears. Thank you Jessica

Thanks for this! When you said, '...because I don't leave my house...daily!' I laughed myself silly. Right there with you. The day I got my rollator (with a handy built-in seat) and could finally go to an art gallery BY MYSELF for the first time in ages was a a few hours' worth of absolute joy. Sure, it's odd to get those pitying/disbelieving looks in public, but it's a lot worse to fall down in public, so I'll take a mobility aid every day I need it. 💜

I still fight this mentally even though it's been years since I started using a wheelchair and walker. I was ok with a cane because I found one that I liked and looked cool. My biggest problem is my circulation in one leg isn't great so sitting upright is quite painful, makes my leg swell, and causes clots. I really want to do more, but the 6 days in hospital with to quote my Dr "A large clot in each lung and a multitude of smaller ones in both." has made me reevaluate pushing my boundaries too hard. (death being a bummer and all)

One of my siblings and I both have hEDS/HSD and we were just talking about this! It's valid to be afraid of going outside with a mobility aid for the first time because of worries about ableism you may face, and we were chatting about just this fear. But if it helps you gain independence long-term, it may be worth it. Often a good metric for when you should look into getting a mobility aid is this: the moment when you start to wonder if you need a mobility aid and whether or not your life would be improved with one... that's often a sign that you should consider looking into one. 💖 (Obviously there are exceptions and nuances to this, but as an idea, it's often a good place to start!)

I'm trying to get assessed with EDS (NHS waiting lists aside) and I'm facing the likelihood of getting a mobility aid within the next five years... it's a concept I'm struggling with a LOT, both with the aspects of "giving up" but also bring "visibly disabled"

My annoyance with my cane comes from the fact that I am very clumsy and I trip on it all the time which just leads to more pain 😂 but ultimately it helps immensely day to day

YES! I got my first wheelchair after a year of barely leaving the house (and falling over every time I did). I could *go places* again and *do things* and not just sit staring at four walls. It was, and still is, freedom. Nobody has ever suggested (to me at least, but I suspect at all ever) that wearing glasses is "giving up", but they are an aid to seeing, ie. a tool to make up for the fact that my eyes are rather crap. My wheelchair is just a tool to make up for my legs being rather crap too.

I feel like if someone is telling you that using a wheelchair is giving up and you will only get worse, they don’t really believe you and think exercise is the answer

I need a cane and knee braces due to undiagnosed pain. (I haven't had time or money to get to the a doctor, but I know I need to) When I first started using the cane, I nearly cried because it made walking so much easier and took off so much stress from my body. The only time I don't use it is when I'm around my parents, who I don't think would understand...but I don't see them too much, seeing I'm in collage multiple states away

This video is really helpful for me. I work at a drugstore, so naturally they sell mobility aids (canes, wheelchairs, walkers, etc.) and every time I walk past them I end up messing with a cane or two. I feel like I wouldn't be valid in using one for a variety of reasons (I'm 17, don't seem to have any major diagnosed disability) but I still want one really badly due to energy issues and joint pain (plus soreness from standing 8 hours a day). And now, maybe, I'll get one. Thank you, Jessica, for providing helpful and informative content as always. xo

My chronic illness developed 8 years ago. Some of my family always preached the idea of "use it or lose it" this year I have finally got a mobility aid wish I had got one before

I wish I'd seen this ten years ago! I started using a chair last year after nearly 13 years on crutches, pregnancy ruined my body (yay fibro and EDS!) I've struggled with the idea I'm giving something up and even now I have to remind myself how much I do now since using the chair that I couldn't before. I don't use crutches anymore because when I need to be supported just for a few steps. My partner is listening to this video and saying this is very me, he's heard me say it all.

I think everyone needs to get rid of every aid they have. Car, knife, girl, spoon, hammer, screwdriver, saw, book, glue, file. You get the idea. Great video.

Love the cutaways! I missed them. It is so hard to explain to people that exercise is sometimes bad-we all know it is good based on massive media coverage! The health care industry try’s the one size fits all idea.

We visited Chicago with ALL my problems. It was full of pain and full of finding benches. A year later, I had some answers and a wheelchair. Same city, new visit, full of JOY and SPEED as my husband could walk his super fast-paced way while wheeling me. I got to experience my first art museum without 95% "where is a bench" thoughts. Fast forward 5 years, I don't need the chair, have a lot more treatments. And that's not better or worse than five years ago. It's just proof that this "giving up" is nonsense. Different seasons of life, our journey towards answers, the drama of treatment ups and downs... I still won't go into triggers (hot summer days) walking around. But I do not regret owning wheels! The only failure is "sucking it up" so others don't see our pain...nobody's judgement is worth it.

Pacing yourself: I say to people that "I walk when I can and I wheel when I must" works for me!!

I am lucky enough to be able to stand and walk, but I have family members (my mother and my child) who are not so lucky. I saw them both struggle not so much with 'giving up' (a factor informed by other people's ideas about disability) but more with acceptance that their disabilities were likely to be long-lived and/or permanent, which can be a very difficult thing to come to terms with. But once they did, their quality of life improved dramatically with the help of mobility aids, leaving them both much less isolated, more independent and more able to get out and do the things they love! Mobility aids truly make a tremendous positive impact, but can we also talk about the cost? For people who are able to walk at least a little they are rarely (if ever) subsidised or provided by healthcare services to my knowledge, which means they are cost prohibitive to so many people who would benefit greatly from them. We saved for months for a wheelchair and while it is wonderful and game-changing, I know that this isn't possible for everyone who needs it, and I really feel for people for whom a life-changing mobility aid is out of reach just because it's unaffordable.

God I didn't know that that was something people actually think! Having an aid to help you move around and have a better quality of life is in no way giving up!!!

I've literally been grappling with this. I already follow and saw this title pop up and I cant wait to see

we shouldn't be insecure about things that could help yourselves i used to feel so embarrassed when my meds got bigger i feel like I failed and I wasn't trying enough but this was not true!! i hope everyone understand that the bigger priority is being okay even if we need some help

May I show this to my doctor. See every doctor I have asked says this,and you said it better than I can.

I was Ill for many years. It was unrecognized by doctors. Not having a mobility aid made me LESS active, not more. It kept me isolated in the house and not able to go out much of the time, but I could have gone to events if I could expend less energy by standing and walking.

I used to think that way. Then I realised that if I got the aid before I really needed it, it halted the decline, and sometimes I've even been able to get a bit stronger.

Omg yes! Somebody asked me yesterday if I was going to get better and "wouldn't it be nice to not be confined to that wheelchair anymore". Smh 🙄

I love my cane, walker and shower chair. The freedom to shower and walk further and longer is wonderful. I have MS, POTS, and migraine. I was young like Jessica when I first got them and it is strange that it has bothered my husbands family so much. They will still see my walker and ask” do you really need this?” It also confuses my neighbors when one day I can walk okay and the next I am using a cane or a rolling walker. Disability is not linear.

I am going to Easter dinner for the first time in 4 years. I was going to try and go without the wheelchair, but am going to take it. Thank you.

jessica is so stylish

Absolutely not! Using mobility aids enables me to be more engaged in life. I love my rollator and my electric trike. Imagine needing eye glasses but refusing to wear them because it would be "giving up". That would be crazy!

"wonky body" I feel seen Thank you darling Jessica ❤️

Your channel has helped me accept my diagnosis of fibromyalgia ( among many other issues) and made me realize its ok to not be as intense and active as everyone else. I just purchased my first walking cane and im so excited!! You make me feel like myself again as i realize that yes my body is changing and in other words failing me, but im able to cope and get through everyday with your videos

I wish videos like this were available when I was as diagnosed. It was easy for me to feel bad about needing help.

one thing that always makes me hesitate when I think about getting an aid (besides like.. all of the hassle of finding a good one and the fact i rarely leave the house anyway so is it worth the money?) is that I'm rarely feeling pain. even when i cant leave bed or walk around the house much, there's rarely pain involved but is instead pure fatigue. I'm always thankful to you for mentioning its not just for when you're in pain, or when you're out of energy, but also for when you're conserving energy, because it makes my desire for a mobility aid feel validated. (and if anyone makes a fuss I can send them your videos and maybe get them off my back xD)

I’ve been looking into getting a mobility aid for a while, but it’s going to take a while to convince the people whom I share health unsuitable with (parents) that I am eligible to use one. It’s going to be real fun.

I wish I'd seen this video when I was younger. I resisted mobility aids for so many years when I needed them because I'd been conditioned to see them as 'bad'. I missed out on outings that I can now go to because I'm in a wheelchair and caused myself extra pain because I didn't use a walking stick. Like you say, using a walking aid is gaining something, not giving up. Thank you for this video and all you do for disability awareness.

Using a mobility scooter has helped so much with my POTS. My fear about about standing because I get dizzy and faint disappeared and I am a lot more relaxed going out. Though I wish it was better known wheelchairs/scooters are used for people with all sorts of conditions including heart problems and dysautonomia, not just because our legs might not work!

I am also an ambulatory wheelchair user and my wheelchair gives me the freedom to go out on my own and live my life I gave up gave up on enduring extra pain and being confined to a house and not being independent

Watching this video made me realized how blessed I've been that my parents just had me use mobility aids for as long as I can remember and normalized it, I got my first wheelchair when I was like 4, I've had a shower chair since I've started showering. It used to confuse me when I would be in Disney World and would be in my wheelchair the whole time in line but then transfer out to get into the ride vehicle and people were shocked, it's so normal to me that I forget that people expect anyone in a wheelchair to be non-ambulatory.

Having a motorized wheelchair would open up my life so much. I don't know how you do things where you live, but in America, you have to be evaluated to see if you are disabled "enough". Next week I am being evaluated to see if I "qualify" for a motorized wheelchair. I too am ambulatory, but have a condition called Erythromelalgia and arthritis, which makes walking extremely painful after a few short minutes. If I had a motorized chair, I could get so much more done around the house, weed the garden, AND I could go for walks around the block. Being stuck inside is just miserable. You and your family are so sweet and smart. I always get excited when I see a new recording in my feed. Thank you!

My sister had a severe connective tissue disorder (polychondritis). When she found she could not get in and out of a regular bed any longer, she got a recliner that would help her get to a standing position and slept in that. For walking around the house, she had a walker and for going out, she had a wheelchair. But all of her mobility aids helped her to live the best she could. Without them, she would have been bed-bound the last five-six years of her life. Why would anyone think that something that helps you is giving up is beyond me.

I started using a cane a week ago so this was rather briliant timing :) without my cane, I can't enjoy 5 minute walk. without pain, but with the cane I definitely can walk a lot more and somehow even conserve energy? It is great

this is such an important video. I have never been able to understand the people who are against the use of mobility aids. i think the mobility aids should be encouraged. don't know why people connect using devices that help us live our life better to being lazy or "giving in to your body's disability". Like people do know their bodies and they know how much better they can feel and how much more they can accomplish with some aid. my mother is more than 65 years old and she has trouble walking long distances (like walking around a park or even grocery shopping). usually i walk with her and either warn her of any sudden steps etc or hold her hand so she won't fall. And even though i have tried to reason with her that she can use a walking stick as she has trouble with her balance and falls over a bit more than usual (almost every time she goes out alone) but she has this idea that using a walking stick would make people look at her like she is old and frail and she would find it embarrassing. i know a lot of people associate the use of mobility aids with being "weak, ill or disabled" (and take it as a bad thing somehow) which is just ableism. i hope mobility aids can be made more normalized and the world could be made more accessible for every one.

I know this is a random reference but one of the kids on Teen Mom 2 has a rare form of MD and she has a wheelchair. It's a unique case bc she's a twin so there's a direct comparison to an able-bodied kid the same age. Since she's a kid, she doesn't really want to use the wheelchair bc she, reasonably, wants to be like the other kids. Through watching her family's story, it's been interesting to see how important the wheelchair is to help persevere her energy for things that really matter to her. For example, if she won't use the wheelchair at all she's exhausted before the end of the day. And it's also really important to preserve her energy so she has some to do kid things like play around a bit during breaks by using the wheelchair to move around during class time/lunch/etc. Basically, to let her have moments where she *gets* to be an active kid, she uses the wheelchair for more mundane tasks that would tire her out before she gets to the fun stuff. You know, focusing on quality of life instead of forcing her to be exhausted OR forcing her to be in the wheelchair all day. I think we also, as a society, still struggle to let people suffering from a particular illness or situation dictate what helps them.

I have a chronic ankle injury (amongst other conditions which can effect my energy and pain levels ) which sometimes I can walk on with little to no pain. Other days I need to use a brace or crutches. I am a teenager so my frequent usage of my crutches raises a lot of questions from everyone around me. I have frequently been told by other people that I don't need both crutches when I can walk short distances with just one, or bo crutches. Too many people can't seem to understand that my crutches and brace are aids I use too prevent my ankle from getting worse. In the past year or so I have been thinking about getting a cane. I think it might make travelling in some places or completing certain activities easier. I just know that so many of the people in my life wouldn't understand that a cane might some days be a more suitable aid for me. My crutches and brace have given me so much more freedom than before. I can't understand why people are so judgemental about something which helps. I don't think that using crutches or other mobility aids is giving up when it gives such an increased level of freedom.

And this applies to accessible parking to. I did not realise how much I needed it till I said I'd only use it when I absolutely need it... and almost always use it now.

When I learned to use a walking stick I watched a video that said "better to walk 500 meters with a stick than 2 meters without" and I think about that all the time

I partially broke my spine with a pinched nerve recently and at first I wasn't able to walk at all. I always felt like no matter how much pain or how little mobility I had in my legs that I wasn't disabled enough. People would ask me why I was in a wheelchair judgmentally because they cannot see my fracture. Thank you for your channel, you give people with disabilities inspiration, hope and visibility

This video is applicable to people everywhere. And when I mean people I mean every single human on the planet Earth. Because even if you were born being able to move around on your own someday that will change. Or at least hopefully you'll get old enough to where that is the problem. Thanks for addressing this Jessica.

I used to be a cane user, and it was a life saver. I could walk for longer, and it helped with dealing with fatigue, plus, I sort of felt safer, having a cane for protection. I don't need it nowadays, since my condition improved drastically, but honestly, I am glad it was there for me. When I see people using mobility aids, I feel happy for them, for having such great tools for independence, and taking care of themselves.

I just wanted to tell you I just got a foldable cane and decorated it with glittery washi tapes and I'm so thrilled and happy to be able to walk at the end of a long day. Thanks. I've been coming back to your videos about disability since we couldn’t figure out what was wrong, and then watched them again after the EDS diagnosis and each time I felt down, and I feel so understood ❤

It's not giving up imo, it's accepting where you are in life in the moment and that you need help, nothing wrong with that, I'd probably hurt myself more trying to walk and push myself, I'm letting myself heal and just accepting this is what it is for now, and I'm glad to have the resources!

Getting a cane was the best thing I did for myself, I can walk further with less pain, meaning I can actually enjoy walking, and I find myself less tired.

This video actually makes me feel infinitely better. I already use a cane when outside my house but I'm really not able to do longer outings, I just simply start dying, and I've been considering getting a wheelchair. But for some reason I always feel guilty about it, and this video is helping me get over the guilt

Getting my wheelchair changed my life! Even before I got to the state I'm in now my eds meant that days out were really painful and knocked me out for week after from exhaustion and since having my chair it only takes a day to recover at most which feels amazing! I did the classic googling of 'how to know if you need a wheelchair' and it felt very like my earlier googling of 'am I gay' and the answer to both is definitely if you're googling it then you already know the answer!

Oof. That question of “Do I need one?” Hit far too close to home lol. Spent a couple years talking myself out of getting a stick, even though I had episodes were my legs felt like my muscles were trying to snap my bones, or my seizures went on long enough that my coordination was even more badly effected by my dyspraxia. Now, after only finally having a bad experience with muscle pain several months ago and recently having a seizure trigger while at seeing a show (and then needing assistance up and guidance to a non-stair exit) did I finally get a cheap, collapsible one off Amazon. It felt like I was taking something I didn’t need because “it’s not that bad, I can still walk”, despite the fact I can be in so much pain I will just find a corner and collapse rather than stand, or I’m trying not up walk into others and cause issues because my inner ear is being flicked about constantly.

I ordered my first cane last week. Without your videos I would not have been ready to care for myself in that way.

i love this, i have POTs and my main worry is ... am i a good mum because im not able to do the things most mums can do, its nice to see another mummy who struggles but is still a great mum ...thankyou

Oh my goodness. This is absolutely what I've been needing. I've been avoiding getting an aid, or getting literally any accommodations (including support groups! goodness, I've been dumb.). The last month has been looking into aids and wondering this exact question. It's been a big stress, but this has been what I've needed. I'm the only outwardly disabled out of my family, so I've been trying to hold on to "normalcy" and not being disabled, but I've been trying to embrace it more. Accepting the future is hard, but every time I imagine myself with an aid, I think of myself as happy. One day I'll be able to get those things, and honestly, I can't wait.

Hi all. I have fibromyalgia, DDD and osteoarthritis in my spine. I bought a folding walking stick when I went on holiday with my folks a few years ago and even tho I was in immense pain, the stick in my bag was my dirty little secret. My conditions are getting worse and I'm now seriously considering next steps...wheels. terrified about judgements of others but I know I'd be able to walk the dog every day if I had the option of a mobility scooter or electric wheelchair. X

The whole reason I felt comfortable getting a mobility aid was because Jessicas videos about finding an electric wheelchair and I will forever be grateful for that.

i remember my dad saying he didn’t want me to “have to walk around with an IV drip” after i was admitted to the ER and got better w aid. i Appreciate this video so much

I need to show this to my sister so bad - she recently got a diagnosis of fibromyalgia but she won't accept getting herself a mobility aid or even borrowing my shower chair or adjustable walking stick because she 'used to be fine doing xyz' 😟 maybe hearing from someone who isn't her baby sibling will help?

The advice about realistic evaluation of things like cutting trips short or having aftereffects if you don't use it - really resonates. I use a scooter for grocery shopping because even though I definitely could walk with a cart, I would pay for walking on the concrete floor and bending to place items in the cart with a night of no sleep and 2-3 days of pain. So I use the scooter.

I got a stick at 25 and did feel like I'd failed in some way. I got two crutches at around 45, and told myself I was only relying on them temporarily. Five years on, I use them every day, I use a wheelchair for days out with my family, and I have a stairlift, which is the most incredible thing in my house. It's a mindset.

Some of my fear around getting walking sticks or crutches is around like, claiming disability without having a specific diagnosis causing my decrease in mobility. I feel like I’m claiming I’m something I’m not if I really just need to get in better shape

the intro was even better than usual with the whole "cut away corner" XD

Oh how wonderfully timed! Brought a stick less than three weeks ago and a wheelchair chair just two days ago! I’m so excited to be able to work towards getting some freedom and spoons back

It took me months of begging to get my parents to take me to the doctor for a diagnosis. I KNEW it was POTS. They still don’t understand how serious it is for me. I’ve been saving up to buy some sort of mobility aide. But I know my parents would never approve. I’d have to use it secretly but I have absolutely no idea how I’d do that.