" . . . best of both worlds "

"Not long ago I moved into a flat much more fully adapted to my needs than anywhere I've lived before. A few months before I could collect my Dragon I had a great accessible kitchen designed by Adam Thomas of Design Matters installed in my flat. Adam designed this specifically with a Dragon in mind: my kitchen and my Dragon complement one another.

There are no units beneath my hob, sink, and a small area of work surface. This enables me, as a wheelchair user, to access them much better than I would otherwise be able to. Whilst this is common to many accessible kitchens, the way I had mine set up is not.

Because my Dragon allows me to sit higher than other wheelchairs would, I was able to have worktops set at the ordinary kitchen worktop height, rather than the considerably lower one that is often the case with wheelchair accessible kitchens. I walk a little at home and I like to be able to stand to cook for short periods of time, and my partner loves cooking and uses my kitchen sometimes. Having a Dragon has therefore meant that I haven't had to choose between using my kitchen myself or having to have other people do so: it has literally meant I can have the best of both worlds.

Because I can adjust my height while using my Dragon and, specifically because of the 3D movement a Dragon enables, I chose to have the worktop in which my hob and sink are set at the same height so as to be able to slide items around on the surface. Adam says "when you explained the advantages of your chair to me I instantly realised you would not need rise and fall worktops in this case due to the flexibility of your new Dragon powerchair". Not needing these height adjustable worktops saved me a considerable amount of money.

As a Dragon user, whilst turning from my hob to my sink or vice versa, I can also be moving up or down so that I can get as close as possible to each feature of my kitchen. The same ability helps me to move between my oven, with its slide-away door, and the other surfaces and appliances in my kitchen.

The advantages to using a Dragon in my kitchen don't stop there: I can access far more shelves within my cupboards, pull-out larder and fridge because I use a Dragon, and I can go lower to load and unload some items from my drawer-style dishwasher more easily and comfortably. I've also been able to have my microwave installed in a unit above my worktop, as I can still reach it there in my Dragon, which has freed up some worktop space. This has been a great help in a kitchen without much surface space.

Dragons and great accessible kitchens such as those by Design Matters can together greatly enable disabled people who love to cook.