Despite living with restricted mobility, Rachel Gibson-Leigh from Brighton, continues to enhance her freedom after attending a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on a new folding TGA Maximo mobility scooter.

Before taking early retirement due to severe Osteo and Rheumatoid Arthritis, Rachel worked in publishing and was an accomplished book and graphic designer. She now lives with her wife, Debbie, who has recently retired from public service as a long standing civil servant. Debbie now cares for Rachel and with the help of two new folding mobility scooters, a TGA Minimo Plus and Maximo, they can both still enjoy accessing Brighton – especially The Lanes, Seafront and new i360. They also enjoy days out in the car with freedom on arrival at scenic locations such as Arundel Castle, the South Downs and Chichester. The compact Minimo is the best-selling folding car boot scooter from TGA and the Maximo is a larger 4-wheel version. The Minimo is lightweight and easy to lift into the car boot whilst the more spacious Maximo provides enhanced comfort, stability and support. Both scooters fold into a compact shape which is essential for Rachel and Debbie as they live in a first floor flat where storage space is limited.

The catalyst behind ownership of these two scooters was Debbie’s invitation to the Buckingham Palace Royal Garden Party – in recognition of her service to the nation. As Rachel cannot walk far, being able to accompany Debbie would not have been possible without the assistance of a mobility scooter. Rachel explains: “Following our invitation to the Palace we could see very early on that there would be a great deal of standing and walking involved. This is something I find very difficult now. Therefore, we decided that a mobility scooter would be the perfect solution. At the time I was about 20 stone in weight so couldn’t make use of the lightweight machines. We also live in a flat serviced by an old Victorian lift so the scooter had to fold. It soon became obvious that the TGA Maximo was the scooter for me. The TGA Assessor, Shaun Finch, brought one to the flat and after a good test drive I bought it there and then. I called her Boudicca, because she represents freedom and liberty for me. I also own a lightweight Minimo Plus now as I have lost weight.” Read more.....

Rachel enjoying the view from the new i360 in Brighton on her TGA folding Maximo mobility scooter.