It took Paula Hartley a long time to accept her mobility scooter, but ‘Madge’ is now part of the family…

“I was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension in 2007, and I was mortified when I had to start using a scooter a few years later. I was only 40 and I hated using it in public.

I stopped going to Meadowhall, the big shopping centre where I live in Sheffield, because I didn’t want to be seen. I’m a larger lady, so I felt uncomfortable about sitting on one because of what people might think.

I couldn’t walk around Meadowhall though, so I missed out on a lot with my family as they had to go without me. I was just too embarrassed about what I would look like, and if anyone I knew would see me.

For the first four or five years of having the scooter, it rarely went anywhere. I mainly used it when we went on holiday, where I wouldn’t see anyone who knew me.

I don’t know what happened, but eventually I just realised that I couldn’t change my situation – there was nothing I could do about it –  so I might as well use it to get out and do more.

These days, I go anywhere and everywhere with it. I’ve even named her Madge, and everyone always asks ‘are we taking Madge? Is Madge coming?’

It’s just normal now. My grandkids have bought me a number plate and they sit on my lap whilst I give them rides. Madge is part of the family, really.

The scooter has gone from something I had to have to something that enhances my life. It enables me to go off and do a lot more things. It gives me freedom, as I can go off on my own.

Getting a scooter as a young person can be horrible as you think they are just for old people, but now I just go anywhere on it.”