Case study: Nine-year-old boy revs up even more with new powerchair

Now with an additional powered wheelchair from Recare, avid motorsport fan Robbie Bayles, nine from Darlington, County Durham, is enjoying even more speed and freedom with his family and friends.

Robbie originally discovered newfound confidence with his Trekinetic GTE all-terrain powerchair from Recare, which was specially finished in Ferrari-inspired red. As a superfan of motorsport, Recare arranged for this powerchair to be delivered to his home in a Ferrari F8 Tributo supplied by JCT600 Brooklands in Leeds. This ultimate Christmas gift delivery was kept a surprise from Robbie, and the family still talks about it to this day.

18 months on, Robbie is still benefiting hugely from his Trekinetic GTE, which continues to give him powered independence off-road when exploring the local countryside and nature reserves.

However, he also now has extra flexibility at home and school with a new Permobil M5 Corpus powerchair. The combination of two products is ensuring Robbie has mobility choices for better inclusion, well-being, and reward from life.

Robbie has arthrogryposis, which is a rare condition that severely affects his joints and results in mobility difficulties. He needs a full-time wheelchair to remain mobile. However, this has never held him back.

With a new Permobil M5 Corpus, Robbie is now seen whizzing in and around his home, and, as it is crash tested, it can be secured in a WAV or an accessible minibus. He drives his powerchair to school accompanied by his mum, Sarah, who either cycles or runs alongside.

Sarah is a keen ultra-marathon competitor who has just completed her latest long-distance run – 38 miles along Isaac’s Tea Trail. Robbie goes out with his mum to help her with training and to walk the family dogs. The outstanding manoeuvrability of his Permobil means popping into the shops for sweets afterwards is a “bit too easy”, says his mum!

The choice of two powerchairs gives the family options when it comes to mobility. Robbie can pick the best product for the task in hand, such as going to the local swimming pool. His Permobil M5 Corpus is ideal for every aspect of access and once he’s in the water, Robbie continues to excel.

Sarah comments: “20 lengths non-stop is no problem for Robbie, he’s such a good swimmer. He will soon be competing in para-swimming and we are so lucky to have Matt Wylie MBE as a coach. Matt won Gold at the Rio Olympics and has really inspired Robbie. Swimming is so important to Robbie so the fact his Permobil M5 Corpus gets him to the pool with no hassle makes all the difference.”

Away from sport, Robbie’s Permobil powerchair is also helping with education. Features such as its Bluetooth connectivity and powered seat tilt and lift mean he can enjoy learning “on the same level” as his peers. The powered elevating leg rests will also be hugely beneficial soon when Robbie has leg surgery – helping with comfort and rehabilitation.

As a fellow motorsport fan, Richard Holland-Oakes, Recare CEO and Co-Founder, continues to support Robbie with product provision and servicing.

Richard concludes: “When I last serviced Robbie’s Trekinetic, we chatted about cars as ever and how amazing his Trekinetic GTE was off-road. It was then that we got onto the subject of easier access at school and nearer home which led to conversations around another powerchair.

“I knew the compact, configurable Permobil M5 Corpus would give Robbie that extra edge in terms of mobility, freedom and confidence. His Permobil M5 Corpus ultimately gives more flexibility to the whole family. We now see Robbie thriving by going to places inaccessible before and overall pushing his boundaries much, much further – Go Robbie Go!”