A wheelchair can be so much more than a piece of equipment – it can provide freedom, independence, and create a more equal playing field. For young people who have limited or no independent mobility it can make all the difference in the world when it comes to their future ambitions, giving them the boost they need to grab the future they want.
As we celebrate 20 years of our Equipment Grant Service, helping children and teens across the UK, Sam Morton explains what being provided with a specialist sit-to-stand wheelchair at the age of 18 meant to him.
Sam has Cerebral Palsy which affects his arms and legs so he has always needed wheelchairs to get around, but after beginning to study English Language and Scriptwriting at the University of Winchester in Hampshire, he faced having to abandon his studies when his family were offered just a fraction of the funding needed from statutory services for a new hi-tech wheelchair that would enable him to continue studying. That was until Newlife stepped in to help.
When Sam received a specialist sit-to-stand wheelchair from Newlife eight years ago, he knew it would change his life and allow him the independence and freedom to attend university and live his life to the full – but he had no idea just how much it would open up his world and help him achieve the future he wanted.
“I owe so much to that wheelchair,” says Sam, now aged 26. “That wheelchair lasted me all the way through university and made my university life possible – I could live in university accommodation, go to my lectures, the library, out to meet friends for coffee. I was even able to go to music festivals, which I didn’t think would ever be on the cards. There were so many times I thought to myself that I was so glad I had it.
“The wheelchair also meant I was able to go into London for days out and I realised that I wanted to live there. It’s the reason I was able to meet the people that are my friendship circle, the reason I got a good grade so I could get the job I have now work for Channel 4. It was all made possible because I was able to have the right piece of equipment at the right time.”
After taking a course in film directing during the pandemic he’s also making short films that show how vibrant disabled life can be – while enjoying all that life in London and beyond can offer.
Sam added: “I’m very grateful to that wheelchair – and for Newlife making it possible. If I had had an unreliable wheelchair, would I still have had the confidence to try to do all those things? I don’t know, but being able to have that wheelchair made everything possible – and I love my life. The fact that Newlife exists is life changing.”
To apply for an equipment grant from Newlife click here
