Naidex Review: from our drive from wheelchair blogger Kelly

Hi everyone,

It’s Kelly Perks-Bevington again, Sirus’ guest blogger.  I’ve been a Sirus drive from wheelchair customer for 7 years now, how time flies!  Today I wanted to write a review about Naidex 2019 which was held at Birmingham’s NEC on 26th and 27th March. I attended both days and it was really interesting! When I was younger, I never thought that something like Naidex would ever interest me, as it took me a very long time to embrace my disability.

Freedom and independence

At Naidex I met so many amazing people but also found loads of disability products that would help me live a more independent life.  I have a Sirus WAV – a drive from wheelchair vehicle which gives me my independence on the road and allows me to get out and about. When I am driving my WAV it’s one of the only times that I can be on my own and feel completely “normal” and not worry about my needs or have to take anything else into consideration.  At Naidex I saw so many things that could potentially give me that kind of freedom in my everyday life!

Here are a few of the highlights for me…

Centrobed 

I was so happy to meet the team from Centrobed. They make specialist bespoke beds and cots! At home I just have a standard bed and this works for me, but what I saw that I was really interested in was the adapted cot. Although my son is able-bodied the adapted cot would help me so much when lifting him in and out of bed. It will literally be life changing for me and will allow me to put him down to bed and get him up in the morning without assistance from my husband or anyone else!

Paravan wheelchairs

This was the first stand I saw as I entered Naidex. Their chairs are AMAZING, and the staff spent a long time demonstrating all of the tilt, rise and standing options. I’ve never seen a chair that rises to a standing position before and it made me realise how far wheelchairs have come since my first ever basic electric wheelchair when I was 11. The Paravan chair that raises to a standing position would be great for me to use at home and out and about but also to encourage my standing more and maintain my ability. I am seriously considering looking into one of these even though they come with a hefty price tag.

Scope 

Scope is a charity that I work with quite regularly. They raise awareness around disability, campaign for fairness for disabled people and offer advice, assistance and emotional support. It was great to catch up with Scope and hear about some of their new campaigns around education and employment!

Facilities and parking

All in all, Naidex this year was fun! It’s great to see so many amazing and innovative companies popping up to make life easier for people with disabilities and it’s great to see the disabled community coming together at events like this! The disabled parking and facilities were good, and what you would expect from a venue such as the NEC. I will be returning!

More info on Sirus drive from wheelchair vehicles…

If you would like to find out more about drive from wheelchair vehicles, the team at Sirus are the experts. Check out their VW Drive and Ford Drive / Upfront conversions. They also fit all kinds of adaptations to help you drive from your wheelchair.