School secretary Lizzie Perrey was one of CarbonBlack’s first ambassadors – and did so in style!
Fashion conscious Lizzie Perrey was not about to let the rare genetic condition Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA), an inherited disease that attacks physical co-ordination but not cognitive ability, hold her back – or stop her looking good!
The 22-year-old was so determined the condition would not impact her lifestyle, that she took out a bank loan to buy a CarbonBlack wheelchair that she could accessorise with her wardrobe.
The super-lightweight and easily transportable chair was also attractive to her because it helped change everyday perceptions of disability – because people see the person and not the chair. This has allowed Lizzie to lead an independent life in her home in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
But Lizzie, who was diagnosed with FA when she was 16, has gone one step further – she has become one of the first customers to tailor the chair to her own fashion specification by ‘blacksessorising’ her ride to make it practically invisible.
“When I was thinking about getting a wheelchair, I did not want a conventional one which is clunky and I didn’t want to have handles and armrests. I went online and apart from the fancy ones in the US which were really beyond my reach, I found the CarbonBlack site.
“What I love about it, is that people don’t notice the chair or the disability, but they see me as a person,” said Lizzie who also uses it as an office chair for her work.
“I can still walk providing there are things I can hold onto, but the chair is a real help with my day-to-day-life. It folds down easily into my mum’s car to go to work and is great for going out in.”
“I took out the loan because it was what I wanted to give me real independence.”
Lizzie has since swapped independence for indepen-tents by taking delivery of CarbonBlack’s off-road rugged wheels for the innovative and ergonomically-designed wheelchair, which allows her to go camping with friends for the first time.