Mary Margaret

Eagle Point, Oregon
November 2, 2008

I'm Mary Magaret and I'm 67 years old. Before we found the GlideCycle, my husband and I were out shopping for a mobility scooter for me. I'm so glad we found the GlideCycle before I started down the path of just giving up my legs and health to a mobility scooter like so many others have.

I've got 6 daughters and 18 grandchildren and I don't want to just sit in a corner and watch them. I want to be able to out there with them. And now, with the help of my GlideCycle, I can!

Mary Magaret's Medical issues:
Most of my problems stem from old injuries. I was shot in the hip with a shotgun when I was 6 years old. I spent 7 years in and out of hospitals and had to relearn to walk several times. They had to have staples put into my right knee because one leg was shorter than the other. That fixed it mostly, but set me up for arthritis.

So now I have a bad hip and a bad knee. I've also broken both shoulders from falls down stairs and also broke my elbow from a fall. For most of my life these injuries haven't bothered me, but 5 years ago both my hip and my knee really started bothering me. My doctors have suggested joint replacement surgeries, but I don't want to go through that.

What has happened due to her condition:
Because of this I have been looking for some other way to regain the flexilblitie and endurance I used to have. I'm not ready to give up. I've had to give up most of the things I used to do for exercise. I used to ride my bike, but had to stop 17 years ago because my knees would swell up after a ride and I couldn't walk for 3 days afterwards. Eventually walking became a chore and I had to give that up too. We would go on a hike and I'd have to stop part way in and wait for them to come back.

I haven't run for over 20 years because of my knees and it's been at least 2 years since I've had any sort of cardio workout.

What she was going to do about it:
I was ready to buy a mobility scooter to help me keep up with my family and the activities I used to join in with. I just couldn't keep up anymore and the scooter looked like my only option even though I knew my health would only go downhill once I got on that scooter.

Then I saw David and his friends riding the GlideCycles and thought that I might be able to do that myself. I thought I might need the Trike Model because of my balance and my broken elbow, but I was suprised to find that it was much easier to balance than I had thought and now I know I can run with the two wheeled model.

After only using the GlideCycle 3 times I noticed how much better I feel. I usually have to struggle to push myself out of a chair to stand, but now I can just stand right up! That may seem like a small thing to most people, but to me it is remarkable!

After only 1 month of using my new GlideCycle I was up to running 3/4 of a mile 3-4 times a week and now only a few weeks later I'm running 2 miles at a time! My life has changed in so many positive ways.

1. I no longer need help getting up from a chair.
2. I now can go on hikes again, without my walking sticks.
3. My knee no longer hurts like it used to.
4. I feel so much better and have so much more energy.