Silvia (paraplegic, Girona) has been in a wheelchair for eleven years after a traffic accident. She is very optimistic and happy, although she does recognise that the first years after her injury were quite difficult due to the radical change in her lifestyle, until she decided to travel as much as possible and enjoy life.

Silvia was a hairdresser, a profession she had to abandon after her injury and find something else to do. Before going back to school, she spent a year playing tennis to get in shape. Then she studied early childhood education and worked at several schools in her area. She then decided to get a second degree in psychology, although when she finished she found there weren't many job opportunities in the sector.

Over this time, she began to miss the independence she had before. She got her driving license and that gave her the freedom to move around and go beyond her town. "But when I got out of the car I still found the same old obstacles. And even though I'm surrounded by loads of people willing to help me, I wanted to do it myself."

«Silvia uses her handbike every day to walk her dogs in the countryside, to visit friends and to do errands without having to use her car.»

When she discovered our handbikes and tried them, "a whole new life opened up before her" because it was exactly what she was looking for to help her get around outside without worrying about obstacles. Since she got her BATEC ELECTRIC handbike, Silvia has gained freedom and autonomy and says she feels "happy, motivated and fulfilled" again. She never stops, using it to walk her dogs in the countryside, to visit friends and to do errands without having to use her car, "which means no more looking for a parking spot, plus its much faster and better for the environment." She even participated in the "batecada" we organised in San Antoni de Calonge in 2014!

«With her BATEC ELECTRIC handbike, Silvia has gained freedom and autonomy and says she feels "happy, motivated and fulfilled" again.» 

"I've had my handbike for two years and I will never regret having bought it. Apart from the fact that I've never had any sort of problem with it, it's given me a new way of looking at my future: now I don't want to study any more and I don't have to work right now, so I just want to enjoy life and travel!" So far, she's visited countries she thought would be impossible in a wheelchair, like Tunisia; and others that are more accessible, such as Italy, Germany, France and the Netherlands, where she enjoyed every last corner without having to worry about the terrain.

«Now I don't want to study any more and I don't have to work right now, so I just want to enjoy life and travel!»

Here at Batec Mobility we encourage Silvia to keep discovering the world, but most of all, to keep smiling!