Ezzy’s new wheelchair helps her feel included
“I love my wheelchair from Variety. It’s red, which is my favourite colour. It has cool, flashy wheels with my name on them and pictures of horses, which is great because I can race fast like the horses. I chose it because it’s so comfy and it looks sporty like my teacher’s wheelchair at school – he plays rugby for GB.
I use my Variety wheelchair when I get tired after I have tried to walk. My legs get super tired so I like to jump in my chair and push myself around to where I want to go. I like going fast. And I like that I can push it myself as it’s super light and easy to move around.
I love using my wheelchair when we take Teddy, my dog, out for a walk. He is very strong and if I try to walk him without using my wheelchair, he sometimes pulls me over. In my wheelchair, I feel much safer when I walk him. Sometimes he is super-fast and pulls me along in my chair like a sleigh in the snow which is such fun. I also like using my chair around the shopping mall, as it gets so busy with lots of people and sometimes they can’t see me with my red flashy chair. I can push myself around and go into the shops. I especially love the Disney shop. Mummy and Daddy have to keep up with me now. Which is funny.
I think wheelchairs are good because they let me have independence and let me go where I want to. I don’t like it when I have to get pushed about. I like to push myself and look at the things I want to when I am out with Mummy and Daddy. I like to learn and see things when I want to. Having my Variety chair lets me feel like I am using my legs to move around and it also it gives Mummy and Daddy a break. My old chair was very heavy and hurt Mummy’s back. That’s why Mummy likes my new one a lot.
If I could go anywhere in the world with my wheelchair, it would be to the Olympics in Tokyo to watch the Olympic showjumping and dressage. I just love horses so much.
If I had to choose a dream wheelchair, it would be able to fly, which would be so much fun. I would have a magic button on my chair, which I could press to make the floor get bigger, so I can get through. I would also have a big bell to ring so people can hear me coming through.
I think sometimes people think I can’t walk, or they look with sad faces at me in my chair. I don’t know why, because I am very happy and very lucky to have a comfy fun chair, especially with flashy wheels. I smile so much and then people say they like my chair, which makes me happy. I then show them the horses on the wheels. I think people don’t have to be sad, because I’m not.
If I was the boss, I would make lifts bigger. They are sometimes so small my family can’t fit in. Or we can only go in one wheelchair at a time. I also would make shops bigger at the till for when you’re queuing and paying. They are so small and narrow sometimes that it’s hard for Mummy to be with my chair and her shopping. It would be fun to have a disabled day in the big shopping malls or supermarkets to make it easier and more fun.
I love my chair so much and I am so grateful to Variety for helping me to have such a beautiful, fun chair. I love using it and it helps me so much to get around. I can enjoy things just like my brothers and sisters and friends, without having to wait to be shown.”