DR MARTIN SCURR: How I wish our patient but fragile Queen could use a wheelchair! –

While it may seem rude for an ordinary family doctor to offer unsolicited advice to our monarch, I feel compelled to insist with respect and humility: ‘Ma’am, it’s time to set another groundbreaking example for the nation – by taking a chair. to the wheels.

Amid the love and gratitude that has poured out across the country in the last few days of the Queen’s 70-year reign, many were upset and worried that she would have to skip the Friday Thanksgiving service at St. on the first day of the platinum anniversary celebrations.

We can only speculate what that means, but since we know he doesn’t like to cancel an actual planned appearance, it’s safe to assume these are major issues.

But could there be another way?

He attended the Chelsea Flower Show two weeks ago in a luxury chauffeur driven golf cart.

However, a four-seater golf cart is so bulky that you can only move around in a small space. A modern electric wheelchair can keep you mobile, active and cheerful to explore exciting new and old places.

It would also be an ambitious symbol of essential mobility aid, which although used by 1.2 million Britons still suffers from a permanent stigma.

I speak with some understanding on this subject. My brother and I bought a wheelchair for our 93 year old mother who has severely limited mobility due to osteoarthritis.

Wanted to travel from north London to see the coast. The wheelchair allowed us to take her to the prom, get on the plane and enjoy the scenery.

But when we later suggested taking her to the local mall, the answer was no. Basically, my mom was too embarrassed to be seen being carried around in the shops.

She’s from the Queen generation, so she grew up at a time when wheelchair-sitting was considered weak, she had some intellectual disability and physical needs: people would talk to you immediately loudly and slowly – if they spoke to you. .

He attended the Chelsea Flower Show two weeks ago in a luxury chauffeur driven golf cart. However, a four-seater golf cart is so bulky that you can only get around it with very little clearance.

Moreover, my mother is a comrade of the war generation, raised to stubbornly reject any attempt to limit their freedom, with Churchil’s crushing cry of “never give up” on their minds.

But having a wheelchair does not mean indulging yourself. Instead, it’s about embracing a means of personal liberation. The younger generations of the country know this. They have grown enthusiastically with the achievements of wheelchair athletes who have won medals at the Paralympic Games.

Go to a theatre, movie theater or music venue and you will see young wheelchair users proudly defending their right to a happy and fulfilling life as anyone else.

But the old-fashioned attitude persists frequently among the 60+ who make up two-thirds of all wheelchair users.

Currently, millions of seniors can experience a world of freedom that denies them with the shame and stigma of refusing to use a wheelchair. But how quickly their demeanor would change if they saw that His Majesty was using someone. And why would it be embarrassing to need mobility aids?

It’s all a natural part of aging – and why not be proud of being old?

I see this all the time in my elderly patients. Due to orthopedic problems and age-related muscle loss, they first lean against furniture to move around the house.

It then becomes necessary to use a walking stick, as the Queen did last October during a thanksgiving service on the occasion of the centennial of the Royal English Legion at Westminster Abbey.

Since then, she has proudly turned the wand into a sentimental icon, using her late husband Prince Philip’s favorite deer antler handle as a daily aid.

More recently, the queen has elevated the cane even more as a fashion item by unveiling a new model with marble handles for her platinum anniversary celebrations.

These sticks have even sparked a healthy public debate about the stick that best suits your physique and the best way to use it.

Imagine the interest that would arise if Her Majesty showed up in a bespoke royal wheelchair.

Being in public, on foot or on wheels is what keeps us going, allowing us to stay socially connected and energized by changing environments.

Ma’am, you’ve led the way for seventy years – and in the 10th decade you can lead society by furthering our national traditions. It’s time for a new royal carriage.