r/mobilityaids

Hey r/mobilityaids ,

I'm a high school student and I've spent the last several months building PathAble, a free web app that maps ADA accessibility features like ramps, curb cuts, elevators, and handrails, and gives walking directions that show accessibility info along the route.

The idea is pretty simple: you can drop a pin anywhere, snap a photo of an accessibility feature, and it gets tagged and added to the map for everyone else to see. Over time this could build into a real crowdsourced picture of where the world is and isn't accessible, especially in places official maps don't really cover well.

Right now it's got a small group of testers but I want to open it up more and get real feedback, especially from anyone who actually deals with mobility access issues day to day, since that feedback matters way more than mine.

Link: https://pathable-mu.vercel.app

It's completely free, no login required, no ads, nothing collected beyond anonymous usage stats so I can tell if it's working. If you try it out, I'd genuinely appreciate any bugs, missing features, or brutal honesty in the comments. Also happy to answer questions about how it works if anyone's curious.

Thanks for reading this far.

So I have a cane, Ive had it for a few months, it has 100% made life easier, But my parents had me use my own money to pay for it, I was a broke sophomore with no job, and they originally told me before my diagnosis they I wouldn't need to pay for medical devices. now I feel I need a mobility aid that offers more support and a new knee brace, but sadly I dont have the money to pay for it myself, because I can't get a job because I dont have my license yet, i cant work at food places in town, and being disabled of course make that all hard. I guess im just scared they'll reject my needs because a doctor who barley listened to me said mobility aids would make me worse and all i need is Physical therapy. i tried that. physical therapy left me bedridden and feeling like i was decaying.

I was diagnosed with fibro and something similar to POTs. It could be POTS the cardiologist couldnt tell me what was wrong exactly. Which is another separate thing that im mad about but thats whatever i guess.

new information:

I managed to gather enough nerve to talk to my parents, they want me to do physical therapy for at least three more months before they consider getting me anything, a bit sad but all things considered it whent better than i expected.

Hi! I have a doctor's appointment to hopefully be "prescribed" my first rollator since I read that it can be covered by my insurance (I'm on Medicaid, so it should be fully covered). I live in Seattle near Capitol Hill, where the sidewalks I personally feel can get aggressively uneven. Any advice on how to work around that? Is it possible to customize my rollator to be all-terrain? I'm also on the short side (5'1"), so would I need to worry about handle height?

Like, when did you decide to use a mobility aid (or a different one) ?

I'm asking cause I have chronic pain especially in my legs and feet, struggle a lot to stand still even with a walking stick even if it's helping a bit with slow walking, but most of the time its bother me to have something in my hands (or around it, like attach to my wrist) as I'm particularly clumsy. I use it at con most of the time, but I struggle to take it in my daily life, I don't know what to do with it while walking fast and I kinda struggle with the fact I have to explain things to people who seen me before, or when I have to use it one day but the next one I'm okay.

I don't think I'm in pain "enough" everyday tho, cause when health professionals ask I don't know what to answer, like if it's a good day I'm like "I'm okay :)" like the bad days didn't exist and I wonder if I'm not just exaggerating my pain 😅

Btw I decorated it so it's not just 'cause of that !

I'm currently diagnosed with fibromyalgia but doing exams to rule out everything else, and maybe know if it's EDS.

I wrote a lot, sorry if my English isn't perfect, I'm exhausted and french 😅

My father's scooter died whilst out and appeared to be battery loss of charge. Charged batteries and worked intermittently would reverse but not go forward. Commenced fault finding usual checks carried out fuses, brake engage lever, speed pots all appear to be fine and resistance adjusting with no dead spots. Key switch is switching back to main control box. 24V present at control box. Motor fine as dabbed supply to it to prove brake releasing and motor turning. Batteries are showing as 24.9V. Was getting a beep in maybe .5 sec intervals when trying to engage throttle but not getting anything at all. Really appreciate any help in this matter. Model in question is a Shoprider Deluxe think also similar to the Cordoba or 888 series.

Thanks in advance.

For anyone who uses a walker and/or a wheelchair, can you recommend a collapsible shopping basket please, to put on my walker or lap?

Edit, I need something as lightweight as possible as I have to take my shopping home on public transport and walk or roll quite a way to and from the bus stop.

I am in contact with doctors about this and will continue to consult them. I am not asking for medical advice here, just suggestions from people with experience with mobility aids.

I have been dealing with extreme dizziness, lightheadedness and feeling like I’m going to faint, positional headaches, and fatigue when standing and walking for two and a half months now. I can walk for a few minutes or longer if I really have to but I end up feeling very sick and exhausted and close to passing out afterwards. I lean on walls, sit, or lie down as much as possible at the moment. At the doctor’s office I have been using wheelchairs more often lately because it feels so much less awful than walking. But sometimes I feel guilty about that because I feel like I somehow don’t “deserve” to use a wheelchair when I can walk a bit. (I would never ever judge someone else for using a wheelchair but for some reason I have trouble extending kindness and understanding to myself.)

My doctor is aware of the issue and had me do a couple tests for POTS but my blood pressure didn’t drop consistently. My heart rate is consistently over 90 and often in the 120s or 130s but my EKGs are normal otherwise. My doctor hasn’t responded since I did the tests and it’s been a couple weeks. She said she is checking with neurology and radiology but I am still waiting to hear back. I have a neurological condition that mimics the symptoms of a brain tumor, without the physical tumor, and I suspect it is the cause of my dizziness and lightheadedness but my previous neurologist told me this wasn’t possible. I see a new one soon and am hoping they may be able to help. It really seems like this is a neurological problem but I can’t tell without a doctor actually listening to me and doing testing.

In the meantime, I have been trying to think of ways to help me be more mobile. I asked a family member who used a cane during chemo treatments if they thought one would help me, but they said no. Wheelchairs seem expensive and permanent and my home is not set up for one. I have been thinking of trying a walker but I don’t know about pricing and whether it is worth it to get one if I might be able to solve the issue through medical means (that is seeming less and less likely but I am still hoping it’s possible). I wanted to ask here if anyone has ideas for what could help me. I will of course continue to consult my doctor as well. Would compression socks be something worth trying? Thanks for any suggestions.

i (20M) got a pair of forearm crutches after over two years of pain, doctors that went nowhere, and being nearly bedridden because constant burning pain in my legs, back, shoulders, joints and spine, balance issues, exhaustion/fatigue, temporary paralysis, and other symptoms.

but when i use it, it only helps with the leg pain a little while causing me deeper pain in my shoulder, wrists and spine, doesn’t really help with my exhaustion or my balance.

now i dont really know what to do, i still dont really go anywhere because i’m still left just as drained and in pain whether i use the crutches or not. the doctors (especially my neurologist) are so slow moving and uninterested in my care and condition that going to them for help feels impossible since ill just get brushed off or shelved again. ny sister has a serious chronic disease and while i’m happy she gets the care she needs and im not envious of her, it does leave me in a position where because im not as sick as her, nobody (my family or the doctors as we see the same neurological office) takes me seriously so im left to my own devices and working off my own dime, thats what makes this extra upsetting.

ive been sick with some moderate-severe chronic illness since i was 18 and i turn 20 in less than a week and now this is just another thing I’ve tried and paid for that didn’t help. i don’t really know what to do anymore.

sorry im all over the place, what im trying to ask is: has anyone else been in this situation? what did you do? not even looking for medical advice, just trying to feel less alone and lowkey stupid T-T

I’ve finally started going out to events like expos and ren faire’s, but I’ve noticed something very strange. When I went to and oddest expo I was photographed 4 time in an hour and there was only one photographer and I got photographed (twice?) at a ren faire. For the ren faire it made more sense why I was photographed but I was in normal cloths at the oddities expo and I was photographed in completely different parts of the expo. Lowkey felt like I was being followed, I don’t thinks I was but it was kinda a lot the flash is uncomfortable and triggers my dystonia. I was almost never photographed at events before but now it kinda feels like I’m the token wheelchair for them to take pictures of. Am I crazy? Is this something someone else has experienced?

I’m looking for suggestions to hook my smart crutches onto the back of my mobility scooter. Since they’re taller and heavier at the top than canes, cane holders seem like they won’t work- they hold them up too high. Anyone successfully done this? Thanks!

Okey question for all the people that use canes and/or forearm crutches. I recently started using both depending on how bad my mobility is on that day and it’s helping tremendously. What I’m getting nervous is the fact that the summer is starting to come to its slow end and I’m starting to think about how my mobility aids are going to affect my college life. My big thing I’m worried about is my crutches specifically being in the way of aisles and stuff during classes. So my question, where do I put my crutches?? My cane folds up small enough to put in my bag but my cane doesn’t so I’m not sure. Thank you in advance!

i know it’s unavoidable I’m not asking if it is a bad thing to do it’s not. just if anyone else had discomfort with interacting w ppl one handed after switching to a cane

it feels the worst to me when someone else is using two hands to give me something and I use only one to accept. I know it’s rude in some cultures and I still obviously can’t help it.

As said in the caption, my knees hurt daily but I don’t know if it’s enough to actually need an aid. Every time I do anything requiring my legs to be straight or bent more than 100° for more than a minute, my knees and legs start hurting and going numb. It’s even worse going up stairs since once I get to the top, my knees hurt really badly and walking hurts for a good few minutes. But the pain isn’t constant and walking before going up or down a flight of stairs doesn’t hurt that badly (although it does make me lightheaded At times). So should I actually look into needing one or can I just go along with my day without an issue?

I've just accepted an invitation to go to the movies, and I'm wondering how it works with a rollater. I can only envision it being out of everyone's way if I sit in the front row, and I do NOT want to sit in the front row.

Advice from someone who's been there, done that?