Your health condition changes over time. Whether the changes come because of the nature of your condition or because of your environment – your condition will change.
And it is important to recognise those changes and it is important to be able to think through what they mean.
I think a good analogy is buying a car. That sporty little number that you loved in your 20s isn’t so great when you have a family of four and a dog. Your needs change over time and for a variety of different reasons.
Becoming Condition Driven Consumers
Here at ED, we recently had a young man come to us because he sensed that his condition was changing. He was older, he was working and he felt that his current wheelchair wasn’t meeting the needs of his condition anymore.
But here’s the thing… He had no idea what to do about it. So we gave him some advice that he said was good so I thought that I’d share it with you.
Write down your goals and think about what you want.
I think that this is a big one that not enough people with long-term conditions think about. What your goals are and what you want are big important things. Going to university, getting involved in sport or even just taking the dog for a walk.
Look for information on your condition
This is something that we at ED can offer. But there are now many good quality sources of information around. Here are a few:
Facebook – Facebook now has lots of condition specific groups that are filled with active community members.
Scope Community – Scope’s community pages have lots of really useful contributions on a variety of different topics.
Our Blog – We tag everything that we write by conditions so if you go to our blog page, you can filter blogs by condition.
Step 3 – Tell Someone
Our client decided that it was a new wheelchair that he needed – one that better fit the changed needs of his condition. Said client was worried though – he was worried because he’d long since been given a new chair and thought that meant the NHS wouldn’t support him getting another.
That is not the case. The NHS are happy to support you with voucher (see Buying A Wheelchair) for a new wheelchair if you can demonstrate your the needs of your condition have changed. Your condition is more than some medical label. Its how old you are, its where you in your life’s journey and its about what your goals are. That is your condition. That is why you need to be an active consumer.
Here at ED, we’re always here to help you. We can listen and support you through the process of deciding what is important to you. Contact Us today.
