Wheelchairs, hoists and other disability equipment need to be safe, reliable and practical.
But why does practical so often mean black, grey, plain and boring?
If a piece of equipment is going to be part of your everyday life, why shouldn't it also show a little bit of you?
I've always liked personalising my own equipment. My wheelchair wheels have colourful spoke guards from Bazaa Wheels, while my Kera hoists from HT Systems have been decorated using Mod Podge and superhero characters.
They still do exactly the same job. They just don't look boring while they're doing it.
Then Along Came Odin
Recently, six-year-old Odin showed us exactly why personality matters.
Odin has muscular dystrophy and uses a Kera transfer hoist. But to him, it's not simply medical equipment. His WWE figures have wrestling matches on the armrests, and when the hoist lifts him, he announces:
"I'm Superman!"
That got us talking about getting Odin some stickers so he can decorate his Kera and truly make it his own.
And why stop there?
Sticker packs, colourful chest-pad covers, superheroes, flowers, sports teams, racing cars, dinosaurs or even a child's own artwork could transform something clinical into something personal.
It doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. Anything added obviously needs to stay clear of the equipment's safety and operation, but sometimes the simplest ideas can make the biggest difference.
Make It Yours
Our clothes show our personality. Our homes do. Our cars do. Even our phone cases do.
So why shouldn't our disability equipment?
Personalisation can change the way we look at something we may use every single day.
It stops being the wheelchair.
It becomes my wheelchair.
It stops being the hoist in the corner.
It becomes my hoist.
A sticker won't change what a piece of equipment does. A colourful spoke guard won't make a wheelchair work better. A superhero won't change the mechanics of a Kera.
But they can change how we feel about the equipment we live with every day.
So perhaps there's one more question worth asking when somebody gets a new piece of equipment:
How can we make it theirs?
Because disability equipment needs to be functional.
It needs to be safe.
But nobody said it has to be boring.
So go on—jazz it up. Show some personality. Make it yours.
Mark Williams is a Kera Travel user, Investor and National Sales Manager at HT Systems.
