Finding Freedom with the TGA Powerpack Duo
Imagine swimming a mile in an outdoor pool.
For Maggie, that wasn’t an impossible challenge – it was part of who she was. Active, determined and happiest outdoors, she loved swimming, sports and spending long summer days on the beaches of Guernsey with her children. Poignantly, she told us “I felt really proud that day, but they do say that pride goes before a fall.”
When Maggie reflects on her life, those are the memories she returns to first. Born and raised in Guernsey, she built a life around movement, family, work life and local beaches. It was a life filled with independence and enjoyment. Then everything changed.
At just 34 years old, Maggie was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. By the time she was 40, the condition had transformed almost every aspect of daily life. “MS took over my life, it was very quick” Maggie recalls.
By this time, Maggie had used a walking stick, wheeled walker and electric wheelchair for a short time. “When my hands were also affected by MS, I physically could not cope any more. The next option was a manual wheelchair, which meant someone else taking on the strain. Thankfully my husband was strong and coped quite well, but others struggled to manoeuvre the wheelchair on slopes and tricky surfaces.” Maggie explains. It wasn’t only the physical limitations that weighed on Maggie. She worried constantly about the people supporting her. Guernsey’s steep hills, uneven terrain and limited accessibility made everyday life increasingly difficult. Places that had once been part of normal life gradually became out of reach.
Leaving Home
Eventually, Maggie and her husband faced a decision no one wants to make. They left the island they loved and moved hundreds of miles away to Scotland. It meant saying goodbye to her brothers and their families, great friends, familiar places, lifelong memories and the community where they had built their lives together. But staying would have meant accepting even greater limitations.
Starting Again
The move brought new opportunities.
Around the time they relocated in 2000, Scotland was becoming a more accessible place to live. Stronger disability legislation, improved public access and better infrastructure there meant that everyday life was gradually becoming easier. In Guernsey, there were no equivalent legal protections at the time, accessibility became far more dependent on individual organisations. For Maggie and her husband, those differences mattered. Daily life became easier to navigate in Scotland, offering more freedom and a little less uncertainty.
Years later, another change came through an unexpected recommendation.
“I heard about the Powerpack Duo in my nursing home, and sent for a brochure from TGA Mobility, which led to a demonstration in my home.”
Liberating
At first, Maggie used the TGA Powerpack Duo indoors. Her carers noticed the difference immediately.
“Wow, this is so easy to push along the carpets.” Some hallways in Maggie’s nursing home are carpeted, which were challenging. The TGA Powerpack reduced that physical strain, helping carers to move more comfortably while easing one of Maggie’s biggest worries. She says, “the Powerpack made light work of the carpet with little effort needed from the care staff.” She continues, “it has given me easier access to the home without having to worry about the carers trying to struggle along, they tell me not to worry, but I do about those around me.” More than anything, it gave Maggie peace of mind. She no longer worried about the struggle of people helping her. That confidence gradually extended beyond the front door too.
Rediscovering Nature
Just a couple of miles from home is a country park with riverside paths. Now, Maggie can enjoy being outdoors again, taking in the sounds of the water and the changing seasons.
“You feel part of nature, it’s just so refreshing to do something that makes you feel like that, and sleep better too.” It has also made family visits feel different.“We don’t go out every time as Scottish weather varies but when people come up from Guernsey, we can go out if the weather is good.”
One visit in particular has stayed with her. The nearby country garden reminded Maggie of home.
“It was a beautiful day, it was sunny, but not too hot and we drove down the little lanes that remind me of the countryside in Guernsey. As we turned through the long tight lanes, our wheelchair adapted vehicle filled the road. My youngest son knew the way, this was my first time there. I think it was going to the river that I enjoyed the most.”
When we asked Maggie to describe the TGA Powerpack Duo in just one word, her answer came without hesitation.“It’s liberating.” She continued, “the feature I value most is that I know I can adjust the speed depending on the slope or level of the ground which is very useful. I suppose I didn’t expect to feel the amount of freedom that I do – I know I still need someone to push the chair but I feel liberated by being able to go where I haven’t been before and don’t need to worry so much before I go somewhere or check if the ground or path is going to be even, as I can rely on my Powerpack. Now we can go out more in the summer, and when the Scottish weather is good.”
Looking Ahead
For Maggie, freedom doesn’t mean climbing steep hills or swimming long distances. It means saying yes to a day out. It means hearing the river again and spending time outdoors with family without worrying about the journey. Next on her list is a visit to a local stately home. “I’d like to go there while it’s open in the summer.”
When asked what she would say to someone considering a TGA Powerpack Duo, Maggie’s answer reflects the same honesty that has been part of her story as she has guided us through this interview.
“I would say, I used to think that Powerpacks were not for people like me. It wasn’t until I got mine and heard the carers and visitors say ‘oh wow, this is good, much easier’ that I realised it really is beneficial and right for me, and for others too.”
That long-awaited trip to the local stately home is now within reach, and we hope Maggie has a fantastic time exploring everything that it has to offer. After all of the change that Maggie has overcome, it’s days out like this that mean the most – and perhaps that’s what freedom really feels like.
Photography: Courtesy of Maggie
