‘Families shouldn’t have to fight to get wheelchairs for their children’
Ruth Owen has faced many challenges in her life. Now, as chief executive of Whizz-kidz, she helps children get wheelchairs.
Growing up, it was assumed I’d never leave home. Being disabled, I was discouraged by the medical profession to go into employment. But even as a kid I was strong-minded. That’s something my mum instilled in me. I was born able-bodied but, after an inoculation aged one, I became so ill I ended up losing the use of my legs. It was only when I was in my 30s I learned I’d effectively had polio. It was a very rare thing to happen, but it meant I never walked again. I didn’t get my first wheelchair until I was seven. While my four siblings would play in the garden, I had to sit with the adults. I couldn’t go to sleepovers and never went to friends’ parties. Primary school wouldn’t take me, so I was home-schooled. It was very isolating, but it also made me grow up very quickly.
After school, I got my first job in the filing department of a local chemical company. It taught me the value of work. Despite facing a lot of discrimination over the years – I was once told by a recruitment company that I was a liability and called a ‘lame duck’ – I persevered. I moved to London when I was 24 and worked my way up in various roles in sales and tech.
In 2004, I was getting a bit bored in the private sector when I saw the role for chief executive of Whizz-kidz advertised. I really admired the charity for providing wheelchairs for children who need them; it’s a simple piece of equipment and families shouldn’t have to fight to get one for their child. Knowing those difficulties all too well, I applied.
I took over from Mike Dickson, who founded the charity in 1990. When I started, Whizz-kidz had been doing great things in terms of fundraising and supporting disabled children, but it was an island. It didn’t lobby or collaborate, and I felt passionately that the charity should also make greater societal change. I wanted the NHS and the Government to understand the importance of paediatric mobility.
This is what my team and I have been doing for the past 16 years. My role involves doing everything from liaising with corporate partners to advocacy work, as well as leading a team of 70 staff. It’s very full-on, but my partner Terry is fantastically supportive.
I meet a lot of children through the charity and the response from them, their families and their carers is very rewarding. I’ve also come to realise how much these children value seeing someone in a leadership role with a visible disability. It shows them that it’s something they can achieve, too.
I wish Whizz-kidz had been around when I was young. Sadly, the need is still all too real, with far too many kids waiting too long for an appropriate wheelchair. But we have done so much for children in situations like mine.
• whizz-kidz.org.uk
I’ve faced a lot of discrimination over the years