" . . . she was able to play without being held . . . "

Hi, I am Katie and I am 13 years old. I have a sister called Sophie and she turned 5 in June. Last September she got her Snappie and it has made a great difference to her life and mine. In her early years I have been used to pushing her around in a push chair but as soon as she got this amazing machine she became more and more independent.

I felt really emotional when we went for a stroll down the river because instead of her sitting by my side on the bench, Sophie and I ran off and played hide and seek. Sophie found it really enjoyable as this was the first time she was able to play without being held. It also had its uses in the snow; she picked up the snow and tried to make a snowball.

As she has progressed, she has become more tactical with her driving e.g. driving up to you and stopping at the last moment!

On a recent camping trip to Alton Towers Sophie was able to whizz around while Mum and Dad were putting up the tent. Then she helped me to go and get the water and she carried it on the back of her wheelchair. That was exciting for Sophie because on one of our other camping trips she has had to sit in a chair and watch and it can get quite tedious!