Evening strolls in the park..., sightseeing trips with the family..., visits to the mall for a coffee or some shopping. All we need to do is put on our shoes and head out the door for a fun and relaxing getaway. It's outings like these that make life more enjoyable and help us get the fresh air we need to feel revitalized and relaxed.

For the past 15 years, these simple pleasures were not only difficult, but in many cases, impossible for Andrea of Sterling Heights, Michigan. Walking her dog or a trip to the zoo with her children had become so difficult that she would often stay home to avoid the pain and discomfort that would accompany the trip.

You see, Andrea suffers from primary-progressive MS, a form of the disease that affects roughly 10% of MS patients. At Andreas’s current stage of disability, even the shortest of walks becomes a tiring and painful experience. MS is the most common neurological cause of disability in young people and is believed to affect between 400,000-500,000 people in the United States.

But Andrea's experience has taken a turn for the better.

Andrea recently received, free of charge, an electric mobility scooter from the Clarence Vincent Foundation (CVF) and the people at Scootaround Inc., North America's leading mobility rental company. Since receiving the scooter, Andrea says she is on the road again and living life in a way that she missed for so long. She is grateful to the kind people at the CVF for making this possible.

Since its inception in the summer of 2005, the mission of the CVF has been to improve the lives of those with mobility issues by providing them with free mobility scooters. Through ongoing partnerships with recognized organizations and agencies, the CVF works with individuals to enhance their life experience and in many cases, to give back the freedom of mobility.

For Andrea, the scooter was presented on behalf of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (MSF), a national non-profit organization that first became aware of Andrea’s plight when hosting an educational patient program in her area. The people at MSF chose Andrea as the first scooter recipient due to the specific challenges presented by her disease. Scootaround representative Eric Lipp was pleased to make the presentation in person to Andrea.

Lipp told the story of how her daughter and husband are still adjusting to Andrea's disability. One comment from her daughter was poignant in its simplicity; as her Mom sat on the scooter and drove it slowly around, her daughter remarked "now you will be able to go to the mall with me".

When it comes to mobility scooters, Eric Lipp has first-hand experience in how it can help in a person's given situation. The day before his 30th birthday, Lipp was diagnosed with a disease that caused a tumor to grow on his spinal cord. The tumor was removed, but due to the trauma of the surgery, he became disabled and was told he might never regain his ability to walk. Through extensive therapy and encouragement from other patients, Eric learned to walk again, with the aid of a cane and an ankle/foot orthotic brace.

"Although I can walk short to medium distances, the addition of a mobility scooter in my situation has really improved my ability to move around and be active." Lipp is the founder of the Chicago-based Open Doors Organization (ODO), disability advocates and creators of the recent ground-breaking study on trends in the disability travel market.

Now that Andrea uses her scooter for daily outings, she no longer has to stop and rest every 15 feet as she has done previously. "In the past, I would not even try to visit a location if there were no benches or seats for me to sit down" says Andrea. "Family outings are now possible and I even made a trip by Ferry to Mackinaw Island -- I haven’t done that in years!"

Andrea also mentioned how, for the first time in four years, she was able to go Christmas shopping on her own and pick out gifts in person, instead of having someone else perform her shopping tasks. "My eleven year-old daughter appreciates the time we can now spend together away from the house -- we're all so very pleased!"

The founding of the Clarence Vincent Foundation was a personal success for Lee Meagher, president of Scootaround Inc. Her father, Clarence Vincent, suffered a stroke in 1986 and it was many months before they could travel abroad again as a family. Once their travels resumed however, they found that mobility vehicles and suitable support were sorely lacking at most of their travel destinations.

Frustrated by their father's seemingly unnecessary inconveniences, Lee and her brother David began researching the needs of older people and others with physical restrictions that travel for business and pleasure. They discovered that 54 million disabled people travel in North America every year, with the largest proportion being over age 50.

With the discovery of this recognized need, Lee and her family turned their personal experience into Scootaround Inc., a unique operation that provides scooter and wheelchair rentals for vacation and business travelers across North America. Since that time, Scootaround has flourished and today serves individuals and organizations through a nation-wide affiliate and staff network.

In the years that followed, Lee began to think of ways that she could benefit the community that helped her company become a success. The result was first a dream, then a reality -- the development and launch of a foundation in the name of her father, Clarence Vincent.

Clarence truly delighted in the dignity and independence derived from his scooter. "This gift of mobility is something that he would have wanted all of those with impaired mobility to experience," says Lee. Indeed, Clarence would be very pleased to know that the CVF exists to provide others with the benefits of freedom and mobility that he enjoyed so thoroughly.

Article by Gerald Adams,
Director of Media Services at Scootaround Inc.