Woman’s ‘grandma‘ walking aid gets a trendy makeover
A WOMAN with fibromyalgia has become so fed up of people treating her differently when they see her “grandma walking stick” she has decided to create her own.
Hannah Hopkins, 29, uses mobility aids such as sticks and walkers to help her cope with the pain and instability she feels because of her condition.
However, she said she receives unwarranted requests about her medical history when she uses them so has decided to create her own “upcycled” versions to change the conversation around her disability.
“I feel like my walker says ‘Hey, I am disabled,’ which puts a lot of people off using them,” said Hannah, who lives in Caerphilly.
She said one of the first questions she gets asked when she meets someone new is “what is wrong with you?” which she thinks is an invasion of her privacy.
“My health is not public property, I don’t owe strangers my medical history. You wouldn’t walk up to a nondisabled person and say ‘have you had any STDs?’ It is just not something that you do.
“My disability is not the most interesting thing about me but the minute you have a mobility aid that is all people see.”
Hannah was diagnosed with fibromyalgia four years ago. It is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body. Symptoms of fibromyalgia also include extreme tiredness, muscle stiffness, difficulty sleeping, problems with mental processes – known as fibro-fog – and headaches.
Hannah had the symptoms of fibromyalgia for a year before she was diagnosed but considers herself lucky as most people with the condition have to wait three to four years for a diagnosis.
“There is no medical test that can tell that you have it. It is literally a case of being tested for everything else to eliminate the possibilities and then you get fibromyalgia,” she added.
The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown but it is thought to be related to abnormal levels of certain chemicals in the brain and changes in the way the central nervous system processes pain carried around the body.
The condition appears to be triggered by a physically or emotionally stressful event and Hannah thinks hers may have been triggered by the fact she had just moved house so she was doing a lot of lifting.
“I couldn’t even move the bedsheets off myself I was in so much pain – my partner had to do it for me.”
There is no cure for fibromyalgia but treatments like painkillers, antidepressants, talking therapies like CBT and lifestyle changes can help.
Some people have even turned to cannabis oil to help with the symptoms.
It is estimated that nearly one in 20 people are affected by fibromyalgia, which can develop at any age, but according to the NHS the condition mostly develops between the ages of 30 and 50.
“I use different aids for different days. Sometimes I walk with a stick that I can rest on and others I will use my walker if I know my legs are a bit more unstable,” Hannah said.
Hannah has noticed a difference in the way she is treated when she uses a plain and undecorated walking aid compared to one of her “upcycled” ones.
“People are less likely to ask me what is wrong with me if I have my upcycled walker. I have made that as an example for what other people can do with theirs.
“When you think of it shoes are a mobility aid and there are thousands of those that we can choose from.”