“Nothing short of a game changer” – how the iWALK 2.0 helped lower-leg amputee, Becca Sellar

Below is Becca’s review of her experience with kneecrutches.co.uk and the iWALK crutch.

“Finding Your Feet, an Amputee and limb absence charity, recently hooked me up with a hands-free crutch thanks to a donation from Steve at kneecrutches.co.uk, who runs a programme to re-home used iWALK 2.0 and iWALK 3.0 crutches.

The device I have is called the iWALK 2.0 (there’s an upgraded 3.0 version available now), and I’d seen it being used by amputees before on social media. When the opportunity to have one donated to me personally arose, I knew that this could be a great tool to have.

There wasn’t much interest from others on the Finding Your Feet website, which I think was down to ‘independence’ being seen as having as few mobility aids as possible – rather than adding another to the collection. But the iWALK has its own set of uses and benefits that no other type can provide.

The iWALK crutch certainly takes a little bit of investment in terms of time and patience. There are three walkthrough videos to watch, which show you how to fit the device to your body, and how to build up to being able to use it safely and effectively.

I was born with congenital deformities to my right leg. These include a significantly shorter femur on my prosthetic side, which meant the standard fitting for the iWALK crutch (built for human dimensions rather than my wildcard ones!) was slightly off. Steven and I worked together to troubleshoot the problem, and came up with a solution in the form of a chunky piece of foam. Lower leg amputees without a shortened upper leg shouldn’t have any issues or need for extra padding with the iWALK.

I can’t thank Steven enough for his proactivity and enthusiasm for finding a solution to my unusual anatomy!

Personally, the biggest benefit of the iWALK crutch has been in the kitchen! As any user of crutches will know, doing things in the kitchen can be a real challenge. Cooking is pretty much out of the window – unless you’re okay with hopping or using a stool, neither of which I find sustainable.

Not having free hands makes it impossible to carry things, which is another big obstacle. So whenever I was on crutches because my prosthetic was out of action, I’d often go without a drink or snack just to avoid the pain of moving about. That was before I had the iWALK.

Becca Sellar using her iWALK 2.0 on the beach in front of the Forth Bridge

The iWALK has also given me a secondary device for being in or around water! It’s the perfect aid for short-term use, or situations where it’s just your lower half getting wet. It’s worked brilliantly for me when I want to get my toes wet with the dog on the beach, without rusting my prosthetic, and I even use it intermittently as an aid at the swimming pool.

In the kitchen and around water are the two main areas where the iWALK 2.0 has been a game changer for me – but as I’m sure you can imagine, there are plenty more instances when having free hands and a lower leg support is fantastic.

Overall, the iWALK is nothing short of a game changer in terms of a mobility aid. While its main market is those with a short-term lower-leg injury, (like a broken ankle) repurposing it for lower limb amputees is a fantastic initiative.

If, like me, you need an occasional, hands-free alternative to your prosthetic, I highly recommend getting in touch with kneecrutches.co.uk!“

Here’s a little video of Becca demonstrating how quick and easy it is to put on and use her iWALK crutch.