Sharron Baroudi, 68 with MS from Kiveton Park near Sheffield, has won a life changing Vita E mobility scooter thanks to a MS Society competition in partnership with TGA Mobility.
Sharron’s never won anything in her life. Even at 68. So she couldn’t believe her luck when the MS Society contacted her with the news that she’d won a mobility scooter from the charity’s partner, TGA Mobility. A scooter was on its way to Kiveton Park near Sheffield. Suddenly getting around her rural ex-mining town was going to be much easier. Struggling on foot with MS a thing of the past – especially when walking her dogs. A Vita E was Sharron’s prize of choice – a bigger 8mph scooter suited for shops and scenery.
The MS Society helped Sharron a lot when she was first diagnosed. She knew nothing about the condition, so they guided her with information especially on how to explain MS to her kids. Today she still follows the charity and saw the TGA competition on social media. She entered and won!
Her prize is already making a big difference: “I’ve been using it to get down and around the Co-op. Before I was relying on my daughter to drive me there. The scooter couldn’t have come at a better time for me as she’ll be leaving home soon to move in with her boyfriend in Gloucester. So, I’ll have nobody to ferry me around apart from my husband at the weekend, but he works full-time, so he’s always too tired to do anything anyway.”
“I’ll also be able to get to the next village, which is about two miles away where there’s a craft butchers and a craft bakery. And I’m hoping to go out a bit further. The old scooter I had before didn’t have enough range and kept breaking down. Whereas I’ve used my Vita E for over a week now and it’s still fully charged.”
It’s not just the shopping that it has solved. It’s walking the dogs says Sharron: “I have Astrid who is a two-year Beagle / Border Collie cross and Ollie who’s nine and a Shih Tzu / Chihuahua / Jack Russell cross. At the moment we have a dog walker who comes three times a week as I can’t walk far. But when it gets warmer I’ll be able to walk them on other days and at the weekend. My Vita E is so quiet I should be able to train them to walk alongside. It’s nothing like the one I hired on holiday in Cornwall last year, that was a real bone shaker and made so much noise. My husband walked the dogs on his crutches next to me but every time the scooter went over something it made a big bang and spooked our dogs.”
Sharron had to retire early due to MS; she was Chief Executive of a charity. These days she keeps just as busy but this time its crafting, mainly amigurumi. Crocheting small items in other words. “I do Random Acts of Crochet and Knitting Kindness – there’s a Facebook page for it, R.A.O.C.K. Lots of people all over the world do it actually. So at different times of the year I do lot of crocheting like at Easter. I’ll make little eggs or chicks and I’ll put an Easter egg inside them and put them around the village for the kids to pick up. And at Christmas I make miniature snowmen, miniature Santas, little Christmas trees and wreaths for children’s parties.”
“Also, now I have a scooter I can get to Aston Springs Farm for painting lesson again. I used to go there in a car with a friend however she moved away. I used to do watercolours mainly and want to get better. I paint in all mediums and have got all the kit but mainly I’m a crafter.”
Sharron is so appreciative of her prize. And when it comes to service, she can’t praise TGA enough. As she wraps up her story Sharron says: “Their customer service has been brilliant. Karl brought a Minimo Autofold, Maximo Plus and Vita E for me to try. We sat in the living room and he asked all about my requirements and I explained about the rough terrain in the woodland and wanting to get to Rother Valley Country Park. So we looked on Google Maps to make sure the scooter could make it there and back. Karl was so knowledgeable. He showed me how to use everything and then he parked it in the garage for me. And then I got an email from Chelsea about a week after asking how I was doing with it. Fantastic customer service and follow up as well.”
