Keep on MOVING
Becoming less mobile or dexterous doesn’t mean you have to lose your independence. Solutions abound for everything from walking to boiling a kettle
AS YOU get older, keeping mobile becomes more vital than ever. With more time on your hands than ever after retiring, being stuck inside your house, being unable to meet friends for lunch or go out for the evening can become depressing. Nor does anyone want to be dependent on pals or loved ones to constantly pick them up and take them to places, no matter how much they protest that they don’t mind. Of course, the best way to ensure you keep moving well in later life is to stay healthy and exercise, but if that’s not possible, don’t worry – there is an astonishing amount of aids that can help you back on your feet, whether you simply struggle to last over long distances or you can’t walk at all.
Easy steps
IF YOU just need to rest periodically or are beginning to lose your confidence being up on your feet when you’re out, you might like to consider a walking stick. It acts as a third leg that you can put some weight on to take some of the strain so you get less tired.
LloydsPharmacy’s Betterlife stores, where you’ll find everything needed to help you live independently, sell a huge range. But rather than the traditional wooden cane, theirs come with handy extras like the ability to fold up and personal alarms.
A best seller is the Hurrycane stick – which at £26.99 won’t break the bank. Not only does it fold up small enough to fit in a handbag but you can use it to get up from a chair or out of the car. That’s because its tripod feet firmly grip the ground, which, when coupled with the unique pivot design, means you can safely put your weight on it as you stand up and it won’t slip.
Should you need a bit more help than a walking stick, there are walking frames from just £19.99 that can get you around the house or to the local shops. You might find a ‘wheeled walker’ – a frame that has two wheels which replace two of the feet – easier to manage to lift and manoeuvre, and not much heavier on the pocket, at £22.99. Both types fold up so you can transport them and store them without problem.
But if getting around under your own steam just isn’t possible, why not consider a mobility scooter? Betterlife has over a dozen to choose from, each with different features and starting at just £395, so there’s bound to be one that’s right for you. One of the most popular is the Genie+ (£1,799), which folds up at the touch of a button to fit in the car or a small space at home. There are also ramps available for outside the
A mobility scooter can fold up at the touch of a button to fit in the car or a small space
house so you can sail straight into your home, and handy accessories such as waterproof covers for the inevitable wet British weather.
But it’s not just the big things that can spoil our quality of life and make us miserable – smaller things are often equally as important, such as not being able to open a jar or snap a ring pull off a can. Thankfully, Better life, which has stores across the country and can also be found online (betterlifehealthcare.com), has brilliantly designed openers available (from just £3.69) for even the toughest job.
Simple solutions
THEY also have solutions for other problems that crop up in the kitchen as we age – such as difficulty preparing food or lifting a kettle full of boiling water. There are specially angled knives and lightweight cutlery so you can carry on eating delicious meals, or a kettle tipper (from just £6.95), so you can still safely enjoy a cuppa.
And once you’ve got all your chores done and are having a well deserved rest in the living room, you don’t have to worry about not being able to get up again. A ‘riser recline’ armchair (from £239.20) raises up to help you back on your feet again.