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Our Winner Of The Photo Contest January 2023
By Lydia Lucas
February 15, 2023
We are extremely pleased to announce Katy Timmons as our winner of the £200 photo contest for January 2023. It was a close run race with some really fabulous photos and stories. A big thank you to all of you who entered.
We thought the photo of Katy 'gliding' on her StrideOn knee walker in front of the temporary Christmas ice rink at Battersea called 'Glide' was fantastic and her story resonated with many of our customers.
Katy said,
"This is yet another example of how the marvellous Stride On 5 wheel scooter has kept me, and therefore my family!, sane through a 12 week period following extensive Achilles tendon surgery. The photo is taken at dusk in front of the temporary Christmas ice rink at Battersea called Glide. Whilst everyone else could "glide" on their ice skates, I had the wonderful feeling of freedom and independence able to "glide" safely around the flat pathways outside the rink and not miss out on the festive spirit. I even added mini bicycle lights so that people could see me coming! Thank you Stride -On for making the past 3 months almost fun as I navigate life with the aid of your amazingly manoeuvrable scooter; I quite simply could not have managed all of this without you. A complete game-changer from the despair and panic I felt when first told I needed to be fully non weight-bearing for so long."
Regarding Katy's recovery comments, "I could not have survived in our home without it and so resoundingly, Yes! I have had the Stride-On as my constant companion, as a blind person might have their Guide Dog, enabling me to get from the bed, set up here in the kitchen, to the little downstairs wc and basin to wash myself. I have managed to load/ unload the washing machine, do the washing up and make hot drinks and even do a bit of careful cooking and even vacuuming with a lighweight battery powered vacuum! I have become a dab -hand at 3 point (well sometimes 7 point!) turns to get around the place. I can get to my own front door to answer the doorbell. I even contributed quite a bit to the Christmas meal including making the mincepies and stuffing the turkey. It has enabled me to go to Church, to the local park, to several supermarkets ( where I could regain some say in what my husband decides to put into our shopping trolley) and even to the seaside along the promenade. The only thing the Stride On could not do was to tow my 80 year old mother along behind me as we both determined to get to see and feel the sea air; she strugggled on her stick, awaiting hip surgery whilst the Stride -On got me to the promenade with effortless ease! Next week, 12 weeks since the surgery, I shall see the surgeon and need to start to learn to walk again, the Stride -On will have done its job of resting my repaired Achilles and it will be time to gradually wean myself off the ease and versatility of the Stride -On and most wistfully, eventually to package it back up and send it back to be refurbished ready to be sent back out to help someone else get through this frightening time post Achilles (or similar) surgery. I simply could not have achieved this stage without it and would be in a crumpled heap of misery long ago had I had to hop everywhere on a Zimmer frame as issued by the hospital for the past 3 months. The Stride-On has helped me live my life but more than that, it has made me feel alive. It is simply not possible to thank you all enough!"
And when we told Katy about winning, her response was... "Well this news yesterday made my week, nevermind my day! THANK YOU all so very much!! I feel so very privileged and lucky to have had the amazing assistance of the Stride -On scooter we hired from you throughout those almost uncomprehensibly difficult months just to function and achieve life's basics following my pretty major Achilles surgery. Now to win this amazing prize just for showing you how much fun and freedom I was able to have due to Stride -On's amazingly efficient and manoevrable design, is a real bonus.
As all of you will well appreciate involved daily with the typical users of your hired knee scooters, the recovery from Achilles surgery can be long and tedious and I am certainly still in that phase - sadly. Working hard everyday on loading exercises for it, swimming and exercise bike work , walking still comes very hard and my first thought asking me what I wanted to do with my win was to order it back again for me to get more easily around the shops and the park as I genuinely miss it! That of course would be defeatest and I am sure my surgeon and physio would be cross for me to give in so instead I must work hard to regain my proper independent mobility, leaving the next needy person to realise the versatility and efficiency of the marvellous Stride -On to assist their more acute post operative recovery!"
What more can we say other than that we wish Katy a fast recovery and look forward to seeing more photos of her in the future.