“To me, the Vicair Vector meant no more pain!”

“It’s at the end of the summer of 2006 and I am at the middle of a beach, when I suddenly come to a standstill.”

A very strange experience, because I simply can’t walk anymore. At least, not without pain. As the weather was great, I decided to sit down and wait until I felt better. Maybe I had just strained a muscle? I never started to feel better though. Which meant I found myself stumbling of the beach to get to my apartment. Maybe a hot bath would help, I thought, but it did not bring any relief. Unfortunately I had to spend the rest of my vacation in pain…

Back home the pain did not go away and walking got more and more difficult. Until one morning I woke up and found that both my legs were still sleeping and would not wake up with me (and to this day they are still asleep). I compare it to the strange feeling you get in your legs when you’ve been sitting in a wrong position for too long. Wondering what might be the cause I did start to fear that it would probably be something worse than a strained muscle. Reluctantly I made a doctor’s appointment.

“I was finally tested for and diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis)”

It was after the holidays, early 2007 when I had my first appointment with a neurologist. It was a relief to find that he took my complaints seriously right away. First he did some tests to rule out other possible causes for my complaints, before I was finally tested for (by use of MRI, Spinal puncture etc.) and diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis).
During the first year good and bad days fluctuated a lot, but I still could “walk”. Until the day came that I had to face the fact that, when I really wanted to go out and do something, I would need a wheelchair (at first now and then…). I went for my first wheelchair in 2008.

“To me, the Vicair Vector 10 meant no more pain”

By now I was using my wheelchair on a daily basis (both in- and outdoors) and sitting in it started to hurt more and more. To solve this I had been sitting on a Jay Basic cushion, but my technical advisor introduced me to the Vicair Vector 10 cushion. It was love at first sit! No more pain when sitting, the pain in my tailbone disappeared and the cushion offered me so much more stability! Super! Besides that I really love the fact that the Vector is really lightweight.

“A few months ago I met the Vicair team at the MS-day of the Dutch National MS Foundation.”

We agreed to replace the blue SmartCells in my cushions for the new silver-grey versions, in exchange for the right to use the price-winning picture that I had made and that showed my Vector cushion (annual photo contest “I can live with MS”- red.) .The new cells are really great! They are even softer to sit on and very comfortable.

Not only the Vicair cushions are great, Vicair’s customer service is super! This service enhances the quality of the product and results in a positive user-experience. Keep up the good work!”

My wheelchair is not a limitation, it enriches my life!

Even when I was little, I’ve always been pretty active. I’ve had several interests from an early age, including playing the saxophone, riding horses, and dancing. After I studied animal care,  I decided to study on and become a veterinarian for animals with disabilities. As such, it requires physical exertion. As a young dancer, I was incredibly flexible, and it was great for ballet. When I was 22, though, my body could no longer sustain it. I had ‘Patella luxations’ a fancy medical term describing displaced kneecaps. I was afraid of a reoccurrence of the luxation, so in 2014 I had surgery. I was nearly back to normal after nearly 1.5 years of recovery.

“But within a month, my life was flipped upside down after I had finally finished rehabilitating.”

After rounding up my rehabilitation, I had erased all the phone numbers for the hospital and physical therapists from my phone. It felt so good! Until a car disregarded me and my bike five weeks later. When I was struck, my life was completely turned upside down. My whole tibial plateau was fractured because of the event. Instead of getting started with my career-oriented goal in England, I had to reside in a hospital for a month and return to my mother’s home because I required a lot of help and assistance to get better.

“I noticed a friend on Facebook who fractured their ankle and was training for a marathon in a wheelchair.”

I was taken to that idea and bought a wheelchair online. Over the course of the next three months we were training together and in the end, did the marathon and crossed the finish line with smiles on our faces. Soon after I got assigned a wheelchair tailored to my needs. However, after a day of sitting in it, my behind was pretty uncomfortable.

“I got in contact with Vicair at a mobility exhibition.”

At the event, I got to trial several Vicair wheelchair cushions, and the Vicair staff were very helpful. I decided on a Vicair Adjuster O2 and it has made a big difference. Now when I use my wheelchair to workout, I can use all my energy to improve my lap times. It certainly makes a difference having a cushion that shapes your body. My bum is no longer numb, and the tingling sensation is gone, and so is the pain.

“My friends were envious of me because they wanted to rest on my cushion as well.”

I also attended music festivals in my wheelchair. My friends were envious of me because they wanted to rest on my cushion as well. On my previous cushion, I wanted to get out of my wheelchair as soon as possible. I no longer have that desire. I can do anything in my chair, including going out for drinks and snacks and exercising – all while sitting in my own wheelchair with a Vicair cushion. It certainly enhances my life, and I intend to achieve much more in the future.

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A Paralympic Champion and a Vicair wheelchair cushion… the winning combination

Mirjam de Koning is a former Dutch professional swimmer with a form of paraplegia. She participated in 2 Paralympic Games and 2 World Championships. Where she won a combined 3 Gold Medals, 4 Silver Medals and 3 Bronze Medals. Mirjam held 4 World Records.

Mirjam was born with damaged connective tissue. Over the years her condition deteriorated and Mirjam had to spend most of her days in bed. For this reason she had experimental surgery done in 2000, during which unfortunately a nerve was damaged. This left her with a form of paraplegia and she had to start using a wheelchair. After the surgery, Mirjam decided to play basketball.
However after 4 years, she had to stop as she had too many basketball-related injuries. In 2004 she switched to swimming. What a success story this decision soon became!

A few months before the London Paralympics Mirjam came to Vicair (headoffice in The Netherlands) asking if we could help her during her preparation.

At that time she was suffering from pressure injuries and they were affecting her Paralympic training schedule. Of course we immediately agreed to help and the same day she was using the Vicair Vector cushion. The pressure injuries healed, Mirjam could train more and… she won a Bronze medal on her last Paralympic race ever.
After the London Paralympics Mirjam became a member of the Vicair product development team the same team that developed her Vicair Active wheelchair cushion.

Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 100m backstroke S6
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 50m freestyle S6
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 100m freestyle S6
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 400m freestyle S6
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London 100m backstroke S6

World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Durban 50m freestyle S6
Silver medal – second place 2010 Eindhoven 50m freestyle S6
Silver medal – second place 2010 Eindhoven 100m freestyle S6
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Durban 100m freestyle S6
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Durban 100m backstroke S6

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