I was an ordinary, introverted, family-oriented man with hobbies like planting flowers, raising birds, and fishing. However, I had to give up these hobbies due to physical limitations.

I didn’t believe studying hard was very important when I was younger, then I became an apprentice and worked on assembling steel frames. Unfortunately, accidents occurred during my work.

One day, while working at a construction site, I climbed to the third floor. I had taken my usual safety measures but didn’t realize that the safety hook had become unhooked. As a result, I fell from the third floor, and everything went blank.

After arriving at the hospital in a coma, I woke up the next day and couldn’t feel my lower limbs, as if they were gone.

The doctor informed me that I have T9-T11 spinal cord injuries and may be paralyzed for the rest of my life. I will be bedridden for the remainder of my life.

My initial thoughts were:  Why me? What should I do next? The following week, I was completely immobile and didn’t eat. I was immersed in negative emotions and could not accept the accident, and I was always in great physical pain.

With time, my wife and my friends kept me company. My daughter was still young and needed me. After approximately three months, I gradually came to terms with my situation. I began to cheer up and learned to face my challenges.

My philosophy is to “let it be” and accept what has happened. We should focus on the future instead of dwelling on the past. Our only option is to take our current situation and live life fully.

When the accident happened, he was in pain, and I also experienced some discomfort, albeit to a lesser degree. My daughter and I are both very supportive. We tried to be understanding and encouraged him.

We are glad he can live with joy, no longer in much physical pain.

After recovering, I went to the hospital for treatment. When I saw other patients in the rehabilitation room, I realized how fortunate I was. I can move from the waist up, which is a blessing compared to completely paralyzed people. I felt happy and grateful. If they can still do rehabilitation despite being completely paralyzed, why can’t I try it too?

Apart from receiving rehabilitation treatment at the hospital, a therapist is coming to my home to teach me simple exercises like pulling elastic ropes and standing. I used a Gaiter and stood at a right angle when practicing standing.

When using the Gaiter for rehabilitation, I would feel tired after standing for a short time, and my feet would start to bend. Then, my coach (my wife) would urge me to stand straight by staring at me. The duration of my standing practice gradually increased from 30 to 40, 50 minutes, and eventually to 1 hour, which was the limit. My wife had to tie the Gaiter for me daily, a complex and laborious task.

Later, my family nurse noticed that I was standing crookedly and was concerned that the rehabilitation effect would not be significant. As a solution, he recommended Karma’s standing wheelchair Ergo Stand.

KARMA’s Ergo Stand enabled me to stand up and release the tension on my feet, significantly reducing the discomfort and pain caused by cramps. Additionally, I no longer required previous assistive devices, saving me much time and effort. This new standing wheelchair has also benefited my rehabilitation, as I can now stand upright.

Also, I don’t have to worry about having enough strength to push the wheelchair after using my “Ergo Stand” because it’s an electric wheelchair. With simple operations, I can drive the wheelchair for a walk at any time.

With the “Ergo Stand“, he can carry things alone without our help and ease our workload. Sometimes, he goes to the market alone to buy something, and I don’t have to worry too much or push him around like before; it also allows me to attend to my affairs.

On the birthday of my discharge from the hospital, my daughter surprised me by buying a sponge cake. At first, I was disappointed by the cake’s appearance and thought, “Why did they get such a simple cake for my birthday?”

However, I was overjoyed when I discovered that my daughter and wife had hidden a surprise inside for me to pull out. The more I pulled, the happier I became. I felt grateful for their thoughtfulness.

Featured Product:

Ergo Stand

“The Zwarte Cross was one of the most beautiful festivals I’ve experienced in the past twelve years,” Sanne said. “I could stand ten meters away from the main stage. It was so much fun and a great experience.” 

Her friends were so moved to see her standing that they decided to set up a crowdfunding campaign so that she could buy her standing wheelchair. “We are going to do everything we can so that she can continue to do this,” says her friend Monique. “This should not be a one-off event for Sanne.” 

They received the money within three days; from now on, Sanne can stand whenever she wants!

Sanne: “It’s special that I can now look into the pan while cooking. I haven’t been able to do that for 12 years with my other wheelchair.”

Source and special thank to:  

Life & Mobility & Zwarte Cross project

Read how it all started at: Sanne kan na 12 jaar eindelijk weer staan: ‘Dit voelt heel emotioneel’

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SME

Hi guys, It’s Hannah. I have been asked by KARMA Mobility to talk about my wheelchairs and the experiences they have given me. 

I have had a wheelchair since I was tiny, and now have 3 different chairs for different occasions (1 being a KARMA wheelchair). Without a wheelchair, I would have no life. I would literally be stuck in my house all the time, with nowhere to go and no big dreams to dream.

Traveling to sunny places is my favourite thing to do, and having my manual chair has made this possible. I have seen many countries and lots of my favourite sandy beaches, my KARMA chair is definitely up for this challenge.

It is also important to me, that my chair feels comfortable but looks cool, you know? I would always make sure I had the coolest looking chair to go with my style.

KARMA focuses on a future where everyone can have a wheelchair that is right for them. This makes me so excited for mini me’s and the future of wheelchair users. Their page also helps discuss funding, which I know is a big part of it.

My wheelchair is freedom, it is me, it gives me equal and endless opportunities.

Featured Product:

S-Ergo 115

Jack and Aaron are brothers, both KARMA wheelchair users, they share with us the importance of their relationship, their jobs, their hobbies, and their life.

Jack: Being disabled makes you learn a lot because you see the world differently to somebody else; because our conditions life limiting you want to do everything that you can do, that you can still try and live a normal life.

Jack: My name’s Jack I’m 22 and I’m from Birmingham.
Aaron: My name’s Aaron I’m 24 years old and we’re brothers, we’re like conjoined twins we’re not.
Jack: Never apart.
Aaron: It gets on my nerves a bit.
Jack: Aaron thinks he’s the comedian.
Aaron: I’m the funny one, that’s all.
If you’re not feeling good like at least we’ve got one another there to reassure each other. It’s just good to have somebody else to talk to and hit me.

Jack: I’m a Cat technician and I work in the roads department.
Aaron: I’m a Cat technician too but in- for a different department that’s for bridges and structures. I think I’m quite shy but once I get to know people I’m all right.
Jack: I’d describe myself as chatty.
Aaron: He’s got a loud one, we call him chatty man.
Jack: Try not to be negative.
We would rather be positive people. I don’t like negative energy. I’ve got a good sense of humor, motivated.

Jack: My hobbies are playing computer games, wheelchair football. I think about chair preparations thinking before you even touch the ball that would be two steps ahead you know thinking, that’s my next run gonna be and you have to think about pace or things like that.
Aaron: No time to ball much really.
Jack: West Bromwich Albion Powerchairs, that’s the name of our team.
Aaron: Get your mind going and keep your mind off what’s going on the outside.
Jack: It gives you a purpose like you know you’re there for one reason and you know it’s to try and win games.
My football wheelchair is used purposely just for football, not made for comfort but for sport. It’s like driving a tin can.

Jack: I definitely prefer the KARMA. So, my Karma wheelchair is used for everyday life, it’s like the Rolls.
Aaron: Royce of wheelchairs, it’s a part of you basically, it’s my legs.
Jack: Sometimes when you feel like you’re asking for too much, makes you feel like a burden but I think having this independence gives me the freedom to do what I want to do, have to just think about the things you can do not worry about things you can’t do.
Because everything’s possible if you put your mind to it.

Featured Product:

EVO Lectus

My name is Eboni. I think the night I gained my confidence was at my prom. I have a Karma chair, it went to prom with me and I just felt so beautiful and free like birds kind of thing.

I’m studying Sociology and English a-levels. I like learning about people and understanding how they work. It feels really good, it’s mine and it’s what I can do no one else can do it for me.

I never had a social life before I had this chair. I was suffering from depression and was on the very edge. I never felt like I had a future and but this chair felt like it’s given me a long happy future and changed the outlook of life.

My relationship with my mum, she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She is like my best friend, very strong and brave, that’s mainly where I get it from. She’s very compassionate and just very kind and caring. As long as I have my mum, I’m complete.

I want to go to university and do mental health nursing at Cambridge. I’m really looking forward to it because I can finally be myself and age doesn’t matter. I’m drawn to helping others mentally and learning different ways because mental health is so different and it’s just really unique.

When I did GCSE’s I was in hospital for most of it because I put so much stress on myself, so it is going to take a lot from me but I know I can 100% do it.

Featured Product:

EVO Lectus

I’m Martyn Sibley, I am the co-founder of Purple Goat Agency and generally an inclusion activist.  An inclusion activist for me is just generally educating the world on how to be more accessible and inclusive for disabled people and also empowering disabled people to go and grab their best life as well. So I landed in my spacecraft from Mars about 20 years ago.

The solution to the perception problem is representation, so when we have disabled people in TV, films, marketing, but also teachers, lawyers, doctors etc. That’s when those stereotypes are broken down, and social media has been a game changer because disabled people have had a voice and can curate the conversation more for ourselves which has been phenomenal to see.

I suppose my story does start around having a disability growing up with SMA definitely molded parts of my experience of the world. And bringing that up into university was a really big leap for me. I did economics and a master’s in marketing there.

Then, after that, my first job was a charity called Scope where I did five years that really I suppose gave me a  grounding in disability inclusion and disability rights, and set me up for what’s been about a decade now of working at the intersection of inclusion entrepreneurship and social media.

I’m disabled I’ve had a wheelchair since I was about three years old. It’s fair to say the world hasn’t been designed by a wheelchair user. There are a lot of barriers to getting onto transport and buildings. Another barrier is from the perception and the attitudes of people, and another barrier is around organizational policies.

Thus, I’ll still be Martyn who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, but I’ll also be Martyn that can get in buildings people don’t judge me because I’m in a wheelchair and there’s no policies holding me back.

I think on a really basic level my wheelchair is my legs, it’s how I get around physically. I got my Karma chair around three years ago, and so I was shown that the Karma had the EVO Lectus. It looked amazing, had features and functions that I had not really seen before, and ultimately decided that was going to be the next chair for me.

I suppose in other ways it just enables me to be a good fiancée to help look after our dog, Sunny. To travel the world which I’ve  done a lot of, and thoroughly enjoyed and to do all of my work and my advocacy work.

I remember when I was three years old, and I got my first power wheelchair that feeling of liberation, freedom and independence was really powerful and that still remains today.

When I was growing up there wasn’t a whole lot of disabled role models. For me, role models are vital, not as an unattainable role model but an example of what everyday life and living very attainable dreams can look like.

Thus, I started blogging because I wanted to be that outlook that I didn’t have when I was in my teen years, so even today I’m very motivated and driven to know that I am inspiring the next generation of disabled people.

Featured Product:

EVO Lectus

I am Johnathon. I’ve always had a passion for animals. Before then I’d only ever seen animals in zoos, I want to see that every day. It sounds weird, but they just talk to me. I’m not Dr. Dolittle or anyone like that but it’s just something about animals. I want to work in conservation, to have a positive impact on the environment and the animals, and also to inspire others to be passionate like I am.

I was on a guided tour. We went through the gate, and the first thing we saw right near the gate was a group of lions, I was like okay I’ve seen a lion now.
Like what else can we see? Just to the camp which was about an hour drive we saw elephants.

So, I was held quite far back. I never thought I’d be smart enough to go to university. But I didn’t bother. Later on in life, I wanted to do something. I thought I’d go into veterinary nursing and they told me that they weren’t sure how my limitations would enable me to do the job, and actually suggested the program, or the course that I took part in.

Throughout my course, I did visit South Africa and I knew that’s where I wanted to be! So when I finished my degree, I knew that I wanted to focus more on conservation projects. I’ve found what I want to do.

I didn’t overly enjoy my schooling years just because mentally I’m able to do like academic work like everyone else. But the school that I was sent to was more aimed I think with people like sensory needs, and people with learning needs that weren’t able to learn at the level that I was able to.

Without my wheelchair, I can pretty much say I wouldn’t have done anything that I’ve wanted to do. It’s great that I can go anywhere I want in the chair! I love the fact that I can turn in small spaces. My Karma chair enables me to go on all kinds of terrain. I’ve been in the bush um on sand, on dirt, muddy weather…

I’m a massive Norwich City fan. I think I’ve been a Norwich fan since I was a child. I’ve been a season ticket holder now for about five-six years.

Whether it’s right for me or not, I push myself forward; I’m determined; I don’t like to be told I can’t do something(which I don’t know if it’s a positive or not).

I like to help other people like myself. I know I can do these things and when I see people they’re like “oh I can’t do this because I’m in a wheelchair or because of my disability”, I’m like you can do that. I’ve done it myself even
if I haven’t done something myself and I’m able to enable somebody else to do that, or at least point them in the right direction or offer them advice I’d always do that I think.

At the moment, I’ve just been doing my course with Bushwise which is a South African company to qualify to become a field guide where I’ll be licensed to take safaris and bushwalks myself, and enable people to experience the wildlife in South Africa,. You know, I’ve always experienced it.

Featured Product:

EVO Lectus

“I am a jazz singer and the chair is lightweight, and easy for me to bring to performance venues! I have MS and I can still walk short distances, but I got the Karma chair so I can keep saying YES to adventures that involved longer distances!”

Thank you Ann for sharing your experience with us! Make sure you follow Ann on Instagram and check out her website: www.annassarsson.com

Featured Products:

Ergo Lite

Ergo Lite 2

I know that I am not perfect, but I have always liked taking pictures since I was a child. I think that many stages of life are worthy of being recorded. In recent years, I have started to experiment with outdoor shooting. Because of the physical aspects of the activity, I was very nervous and unnatural at first, but through the guidance of the photographer and with a lot of experience, I can now confidently show myself in front of the camera.Picture taken from: Shirley’s IG

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Blazer Captain

Blazer Sling

The parent-child relationship is a continuous cycle of “love and acceptance.” Especially when there is a family member with a disability, parents and children must overcome unimaginable difficulties and challenges together, but they also grow and nourish each other in the process.

Leo test driving Kameleon, Karma’s most advanced pediatric power wheelchair.

Leo is KARMA’s first pediatric power wheelchair, Kameleon, test driver. First, we would like to thank Leo’s mother for sharing her caregiving journey and her experience of the positive effects that a power wheelchair brought to her child’s life.

Leo has Cerebral Palsy (CP) as a result of premature birth. For this reason, his mother resigned from her job to accompany him to special education school. However, children attending special education schools have different learning abilities. Due to Leo’s limited mobility capability, he found it hard to make friends. He kept asking his mother, “Why can’t I go to an ordinary school?“

Leo’s mother dropping him off at school.

Two years later, his mom, determined to help him transfer school found it difficult to find a school to accept him. Either the school refused to accept him, or the teacher didn’t understand his own pace of learning so Leo was unable to keep up with the rest of his peers.

“The teacher didn’t give up on me, so I can’t let the teacher down.“

Leo was considered by some teachers as a child who could not walk, count, or write, but his mother refused to admit defeat. She started to teach him to pick up pens and draw lines, they practiced continuously every day. Now Leo is in sixth grade and can write and count. It is because he met a good teacher, even if he is a “slow” learner compared to others, the teacher never let him miss a class or gave him special treatment, which motivated Leo; “the teacher didn’t give up on me, so I can’t let her down.”

Leo getting to grips with Kameleon.

“You must accept yourself before expecting others to accept you.”

Most people might think that children with Cerebral Palsy to be very introverted, but Leo’s mothers never wanted him to feel different from others. If someone asks him why he wears steel shoes, his mother taught him to reply, “because I am a Transformer.”

Karma’s OT. Joe Li, showing Leo how to use the power functions of Kameleon

“Instead of struggling to walk, it is better to keep your physical strength for learning.”

When he started the sixth grade, Leo’s parents decided to buy him a power wheelchair, hoping that Leo would start being more independent and not rely on his mother for everything. Although at first they were worried that he would rely too much on the power wheelchair and they would lose all the progress that they made with his walking. Later they found that as Leo grew bigger, his walking ability could no longer satisfy his curiosity to explore the outside world. It became more and more difficult to walk for long stretches of time, so his mother decided to reserve his physical strength for learning and experiencing new things.

In order to allow him to gradually become independent, Leo’s mother began to plan small outing goals. Before going out, they would set goals together, such as to buy the most delicious crepes ever! They would also practice outdoor safety rules, and simulate road conditions. 

Leo can now participate in physical education with his classmates because of his new power wheelchair!

With the new power wheelchair, Leo now can take physical education classes with his classmates. His power wheelchair has also become a topic between him and his classmates. Everyone wants to take turns borrowing his chair. Someone even fell asleep in it!

Leo’s mother, remembering her past few years with Leo said; “I used to be so busy and eager to do a lot of things, only thinking about reaching the destination. Later, because of Leo, I was forced to stop and take care of him, then I discovered that in fact, there are many beautiful moments in life that I didn’t really pay attention to. Although we had many difficulties to overcome, we also experienced and appreciate life differently to others.“

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Leon F Kameleon