Freedom Chair Testimonials

Robert's Story

I’ve been an MS sufferer for many years and have pretty much lost all mobility on my left side. This has been severely restrictive. I already have a large power chair and I’ve been using this chair for both inside the house and for outdoor trips which has certainly made my life more bearable.

However, because of its size and weight, loading this chair into our small SUV by joining three pieces of aluminium to make a ramp is time consuming and a little difficult for my wife Sharon. Of more importance was the issue that once we arrived at our destination we needed to find parking where we had the space to install the ramps, lower the chair to the ground and do this without impacting on those around us. When the chair is in the SUV there’s only room for the two of us and this is also restrictive. The alternative was to take taxis but this was an expensive option.

I then discovered the Freedom Chair. Paul from Montec Mobility Ltd sourced the chair, trained me how to use it and has supplied other helpful extras.

I’m now FREE.

Sharon and I can go out together with ease as it only takes a few seconds for her to load the Freedom Chair into the car. In fact, we can load it into almost any vehicle. Parking is unrestricted as there is no need for a ramp. I can go to the Zoo, the movies, the waterfront and cafes. We can enjoy visits to family and friends without them having to come to us. I can also get picked up by friends and with very little support from them we can have an enjoyable day together.

In late July 2017, Sharon and I traveled overseas to see the kids and we included the Freedom Chair. It made the trip so easy. The Freedom Chair has given me my life back and the best thing I can say about it is:

“Its Life Changing”

Jennie's Story

I have been making great use of the Freedom Chair - what a blessing it has been.

The Monday after you delivered it, Ande and I went to visit the Hamilton Gardens, and what a wonderful feeling it was to be fully independent and be able to get around the gardens with Ande and to also head off on my own if I wanted.

The Freedom Chair was amazing. A sign pointed out the 'wheelchair path' which we followed. It was paved for a while but then the paving ran out and we ended up in the loose metal with the path going uphill for a stretch. We may have taken a wrong turn somewhere, but I have to say the chair handled it beautifully, with Ande following close behind.

I wouldn't have purposefully chosen to drive around in loose gravel, but it had started raining and we were hoping the path joined up with the road again and lead to cover. It did after a short distance. We also at one point had to make a dash to the car in the rain across the grass and the chair didn't skip a beat.

At the weekend we visited our daughter in Rotorua. This time I didn't have to find an excuse not to go for a walk around the lakefront and for two and a half hours we walked around Government Gardens which were beautiful, and the lake front which was fantastic. (I didn't feel a bit tired). Part of the path around the lake was very sandy and I thought I might have to turn around, but it was over a hard-packed dirt surface and again the chair didn't skip a beat. We went to a café after for coffee, and I simply drove up to the table, pulled the armrests backwards and enjoyed a coffee with Ande and Shona.

It has literally been years since I have been able to do this, and I feel like I have a whole new lease of life! The ease and freedom we have now to simply fold the chair and put it in the back of the car is Fantastic. I feel able now to go anywhere and do almost anything.

This chair is very aptly named as it certainly is a Freedom Chair. Cheers Jennie

David’s Story

I thought that I would report to you of my experience with this chair since I received it. As you know, I keep the chair at “The Village” in Birkenhead, as my mobility scooter at Pauanui covers my needs there.

I’ve taken the chair with me, when visiting shopping malls, and the likes of Bunnings and Mitre 10, which has enabled me to spend more time in places such as those, which I couldn’t do previously, as using the crutches, walking any distance affected my back quite badly. It’s been good not having to rush in, get what I needed, and then get out quickly.

I’ve just returned from several days in Paihia and was able to use the chair from the apartment and travel all around the town, including a stint on the beach. The sand was very firm, otherwise I wouldn’t have attempted doing that.

The chair has given me mobility that I didn’t previously have, due to the strain put on my back with using the crutches. The chair has attracted a lot of attention, and I’ve handed one person a flyer.

Thanks for your wonderful product.

With Regards, David 😄

Lisa's Story

I have MS. I walk with a walker. I can’t walk far but I can walk. I didn’t want a wheelchair.

I thought using a wheelchair would show that the MS was winning. I was wrong. I was isolating myself and my life was passing me by. I wasn’t living life. I was existing.

My Freedom chair has changed my life. I am now able to join in and enjoy a life outside of my home. I hadn’t been to the supermarket for four years. The last time I went the sliding doors had knocked me over. I moved too slow with my walker. I now go to the supermarket every week. I can go shopping. I can go out for a meal. I saw my daughter graduate. I am now able to go to the park and move on grass.

I am now social and enjoying life. The Freedom chair is user friendly. It is easy to manoeuvre and can fit into areas a manual wheelchair wouldn’t. I can not only keep up with my friends but can move faster and for longer. For someone who has struggled for years to move that feels so good. The Freedom chair is easy to transport. It folds compactly, is easy to flick open to use and is comfortable. I feel safe, secure and in control.

Paul is wonderful. He bought the chair to me in Taranaki and showed me how to use it. This was awesome as it is difficult for me to travel any considerable distance. My life changed that day.

People smile at me as I zoom along in my chair. It is a conversation starter and I love it. The Freedom chair has certainly given me back my Freedom. Thank you for your help Paul.

Jennie's Travels

Well we are now back from our 4 weeks in Europe and what a great time it was. Seeing our daughter and her husband and spending Christmas with them was Fantastic. Our first week was in London and although the streets around Mayfair were certainly not designed with wheelchairs in mind, we managed perfectly well. Getting out around Piccadilly, Hyde Park etc the Freedom Chair was great. We went on the London eye with it and were taken straight to the front of a very long line and ushered on first. (Oh, the perks) We spent lots of hours trekking around London to all the places we know when we lived there about 34 years ago.

The family then spent 2 fantastic weeks together in Scotland and thanks to the Freedom Chair I didn't miss out on anything, from enjoying Hogmanay in Edinburgh and rolling up to the castle for the spectacular fireworks display to Mugdoch Castle which is the ancestral home of us Grahams where with the others I could roll down through the tracks to what's left of the castle. We had stopped at Hadrian's Wall and although I couldn't get right up to it with the family, I could roll a fair way towards it. Also went to Culloden and there I was able to roll all around the walkways through the fields in the Freedom chair as the family walked.

Ande and I also spent 3 days in Paris when we got back from Scotland and spent 5-6 hours a day walking/rolling around all the sights. Paris was amazingly wheelchair friendly everywhere went. At the Moulin Rouge the Staff went out of their way to accommodate a wheelchair In the Louvre. We were taken through a secret door in a very ornately painted wall and directed through to where the Mona Lisa was hanging. When we got up to it the lady sitting on the guard’s chair called for Ande and I to come up in front of the barrier so we could take close-up pictures of Mona. The crowd behind the barrier (most holding cameras on selfie sticks) did not look impressed as I sat directly in front of the Mona Lisa (with heads in my way) taking nice close-up shots. (no selfie stick)

When we went to the Eiffel Tower we were once again directed to the front of another very long que with no hassle I could go up the Tower with Ande. There is no doubt in either of our minds that without the Freedom Chair we would not have seen, or done a fraction of the things we did on our trip. The London Black Cabs are all fitted with ramps, or have a ramp in back, so wheelchair users can just drive straight in. With the smaller size and less weight of the Freedom Chair it proved itself to be ideal everywhere we went.

Having the 2nd battery was such a good idea and allowed us to everything we wanted to do in a day without having to stop and wait for a battery to charge before continuing.

Emirates were good and told us to say to any of the customs agents who asked about having 2 batteries in our carry on that 1 battery was used in the chair while the other was a backup.

This is such a wonderfully fantastic wheelchair that has made our trip, and our lives, so much better than we could have hoped.

Cheers

Jennie

Rosemary's Zippy

I am loving my freedom wheelchair! Gives so much more freedom and less arguments! I’ve named it zippy and it’s just awesome!

We are wanting to travel to Europe this year to visit our son in France and I’ve decided to take zippy. We fly emirates and will also fly local in between countries.

You have a letter we can show the airlines re zippy’s batteries etc and we would very much like that sent to us please?

Thank you very much

Cheers

Rosemary

Colin finds getting around the house much easier now. He still uses a walker to keep fit but having a big house to walk around was limiting. The Freedom Chair has provided a much better lifestyle choice for him.

Derek lives in a multi story Retirement Village. Walking around the village, to the dinning room, recreation areas and local shops using a walking frame was a time consuming and energy draining task. Using the Freedom Chair totally changed his lifestyle.

Eileen has very limited capacity to walk any distance at all. Now she has a Freedom Chair she is able to go shopping, meet friends and travel to places previously off limits. Her life style has changed for the better.