I decided to share my story, years of physical rehabilitation routines, and mobility aid experiences for this blog to inspire and motivate people in the same shoes. No one deserves to be stuck at home unless they choose to, but not every person has that option.
All over the world, there are people living this harsh reality, including myself.
However, this doesn’t mean we should sulk in a corner, even if restricted movement directly affects our lives. Still, it’s not the end of the world nor life as we know it, whether you’re born with limited mobility, suffering from a disease, an accident, a virus, et cetera.
My mission is to encourage people with restricted movement to rage against the dying of the light and live a life with new means to the fullest!
My condition only impairs my mobility, not my life— that’s why my pictures are all over the place.
My Adversity
Ten years ago, I won the Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) lottery during my marriage’s first anniversary. A seemingly perfect getaway until my fingers suddenly felt a piercing of needles, followed by a burning sensation from my knee pit. Eventually, the disease progressed throughout my body until I was completely numb and paralyzed from the neck down. Being unable to scratch my nose when it was itchy was one of the lowest points/my greatest pains I had to endure a year and a half of hospitalization.
The disease chipped away my motor functions and significant fatherhood milestones, starting from my fingers to missing out on my daughter’s first footstep.
My Life Fell Into A Complete Stasis And Frailty
I often find myself drowning in negativity during my daily rehabilitation that lasted for ten grueling hours. However, I would always swim to the surface of my negativity and climb adversities towering over me. Who wouldn’t want to get up in the morning feeling better than they did yesterday, right?
In the hospital bed, where I spent most of my time, I made a vow to myself to continue my studies, finish my degree, and go back to my job, so I kept trying, believing, hoping, and wishing for my life back. Slowly but surely, with enough perseverance and dedication, I was finally able to leave the hospital; the day I got through that door was one of the most liberating moments of my life— I was so overjoyed!
New Life… It’s Time To Turn A New Leaf!
It’s like seeing the outside world for the first time after my year and a half stay in the hospital. I surely missed the outside world, but there’s one thing I’m most excited about: returning home to my loved ones. All of this was possible through my faith in a better tomorrow and the assistance of wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and canes.
The process wasn’t a full-blown fairytale success story.
As a person who’s done so many trials and errors with mobility aids for a decade, the problems I’ve encountered would surprise you.
Half of it involved wheelchairs that don’t fit, get stuck in the elevator, faulty products not fitting my needs, false promises, and shady dealers.
Nonetheless, I hope sharing my journey and learnings would prove useful to your recovery. I’ve taken my devices to the grocery store— all the way to various countries, adventures, and family trips, and I hope that you do, too!
To sum it up, everything that happened sparked a fire inside of me to help people find solutions to mobility problems for people like me.
About This Blog
It aims to build an informed and confident community equipped with the knowledge to solve mobility problems, share small victories, discuss and explain mobility aids in detail to determine the most suitable product based on your need/demand and preference.
Whether you have limited mobility or you’re relatively close to someone suffering from it. It’s a collective pain we share and endure every day. We should share our stories to understand our needs and problems better so we can save time from making mistakes or experiencing disappointment.
I dreamt of creating this blog as a passion project, and now it’s coming to reality.
My name is Yaniv, and this is my story.
