FEBRUARY 28, 2024
KNOWLEDGE BASE
We’re not your typical wheelchair company. In fact, we don’t consider ourselves a wheelchair company at all. We’re a group of engineers that’s excited to see our designs help people. We’re a small team, but we’ve got grit. We’ll do everything we can to ensure you have a great experience. We promise you that!
When you call us here at GRIT, we hope you’ll consider us to be a group of friends you can ask for support from. Starting with the initial purchase of your GRIT Freedom Chair, we’ll answer all of your questions – and probably ask some you haven’t thought of yet – in order to help you feel certain that a GRIT Freedom Chair is right for you. Once your chair arrives, we’ll give you a ring to be sure everything is going smoothly! If you’re struggling with anything at all, we’ll be here to work through it with you. As you become a seasoned adventurer in your chair, we’ll still be here if anything arises, waiting to hear from you and to hear about your travels! In all of these circumstances, please speak to us as you would any other friend. We’ll certainly speak to you as such.
However, we aren’t the only support you’ll be gaining when you start rolling in a Freedom Chair of your own. We have created a network of riders just like you to share challenges, triumphs, and everything in between. When you join our online GRIT Freedom Chair Rider Group you will make friends from all over the country who understand what you are going through.
Below are just a few of the many great folks in that community who are always happy to answer questions, offer encouragement, share their own personal journey, and generally celebrate your adventures! The community is always growing – we would love to add you to this list of helpful, resourceful folks!
Kenny Hersh
“I have a neuro disease and use a walker all the time. I use the [Freedom Chair] for walks with my wife and family and friends either on a bike path or on the street. Last week, we rented a beach house and there was a paved path along the beach which I did a number of times with grandkids. I have used it in a city and on a trail. I am unable to put it together myself and have friends and family assist with that. The story is that you shouldn’t get intimidated by the super users in this group who are true adventurers and have lots of good stories. You need to define what you use the FC for and not feel that if you are not doing the Rockies in it that you are a wuss. Fear not and do what you feel comfortable doing.”
Brandy Howe
“My honest opinion is give yourself some time, and if the weekends are all the time you have then give it the weekends. The Freedom Chair is a wonderful piece of equipment, but it does take time for not only your mind to adjust to the chair but also your body to gain the strength to use it. It truly is a full-body workout, and you will learn where your weaknesses are when you use it. I have Cerebral Palsy so I only speak from experience. The Freedom Chair has allowed me the freedom to participate in 5Ks (something I would have never been able to do otherwise). If you don’t want the Freedom Chair to be a dust collector then make it a goal to use it even if it is only on the weekends. My husband pushes me in the Freedom Chair and says it is much easier than my standard chair, so if push comes to shove and you just find that some days you don’t have the strength, use the chair and have someone push you. Enjoy the chair. Don’t let it become something you feel you fail at.”
Pedee Possum
“I [have had Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis] for 20 years. Before MS destroyed my life, I was an avid hiker, double-diamond skier and windsurfer . . . I stagger through my house with a rollator and need an electric wheelchair to go into the world. I’m mostly trapped like a prisoner in my home. I rode a handcycle until 2.5 yrs ago, but my hands are now messed up, and I’m unable to change gears. The Freedom Chair is the highlight of my day now. I ride 1.25 miles a day with my girlfriend and our dogs. It is awesome to be getting aerobic exercise outside with the bunnies and deer. I ride year-round through snow, mud, potholes. It is great on the rare occasions I find someone willing to push me up a trail to a lake . . . The Freedom Chair is my salvation at this point in an otherwise tragic life. It provides so many outdoor activities.”
Ralph Staus
“I too have MS. Several years ago, I started using a wheelchair most days. Could walk from the car into a store with a cane but walking around the store was out. [Then] I got the [Freedom Chair] . . . Becky and I can go for a walk on gravel road with moderate hill like we use to do before. I feel like I am not improving much and, if I am, not fast; but I enjoy each small accomplishment . . . For me, the [Freedom Chair] is a chance to go and do again even, if slower than everyone else.”
Jabe Couch
“I also have MS and my friends and wife say it’s way easier to push than my ultralight. I did gain a ton of strength and stamina over the last couple of months, still need a push on occasion but not nearly like I did at first . . . In town or in the woods I’m happier in my Freedom Chair than any other options I have including my power chair which is pretty cool in it’s right, but jumping curbs or working up a sweat not so much . . . All my doctors love the fact my power chair now sits.”
Natalie Jones
It’s totally worth it. I [have] debilitating fatigue, muscle weakness, and neuromuscular dysfunction. The way I think of it though is everything I do to build up my body is directly fighting the disease. You will get stronger. You will be tougher. You can fight this. Use the fact that it was a big investment to make yourself get out and use it every day.