Beach wheelchair gets grandmother to Herm wedding

Sunday 14 October 2018

When Pam de Jersey's grandson planned to get married in Herm, her family wanted to make sure that her wheelchair use wouldn't stop her from being part of the big day - and they succeeded in getting her there to enjoy the occasion.

Ms de Jersey and her daughter visited the St John Health Care shop where they arranged to hire a beach wheelchair - which uses large, wide tires capable of moving across sand.

After a quick demonstration, they took the wheelchair to Herm on the Travel Trident so Ms de Jersey could travel from the harbour to Shell Beach and back to the White House for both the ceremony and celebrations.

"It was the perfect day," she said, "the wheelchair was really good and very comfortable.

"The transfer from my chair to the beach chair was ok and it seemed easy for the people who were pushing me. I would certainly recommend it."

Ms de Jersey used to visit Herm, but has not been able to go since becoming a wheelchair user eight years ago.

"It was quite emotional," she said, "I was quite nervous but it went really well. I was able to get down onto Shell Beach with help from some of the guests at the wedding and the staff from Trident helped me get on and off the ferry too."

The beach wheelchair is fitted with large tyres to make it easier to travel over sand and uneven ground. It is available for hire from St John Health Care at the Rohais. St John can also supply a range of other wheelchairs for short-term hire or longer term rental. 

St John added it hoped that subject to the relevant permissions a beach wheelchair will also be available for hire on a semi-permanent basis at Pembroke Bay in Guernsey during the summer of 2019.