Solvår is a cheerful, chatty, and lively 26-year-old woman. She lives in Stange, Norway with her partner and two young boys, aged 2 and 4. Additionally, she is a stepmother to an 11-year-old boy.
Solvår comes smiling towards me in her wheelchair. She was born with diplegic cerebral palsy. She used to walk with crutches, but in recent years, she has chosen to use a wheelchair more and more. She explains that walking with crutches is not compatible with having two active young children. It is simply more practical and manageable for her to use a wheelchair. "I can get around faster, and it is easier to keep up with the pace of a 2-year-old in a wheelchair than with crutches. It is also easier to offer the children a lap to sit on," says Solvår.
Student and wheelchair user
Solvår is studying social pedagogy at the Steiner College in Oslo. She thoroughly enjoys her education and dreams of working with people in the future, either in psychiatry, social work, or with disadvantaged children.
"It is very interesting to have a disability and be a wheelchair user while studying social pedagogy," says Solvår, adding, "I get to hear about everything that I am a part of or experience every day - such as inclusion and facilitation."
She talks about fellow students who ask about her experiences, particularly regarding accessibility for wheelchair users in society. This is a topic that engages Solvår because, unfortunately, it is not always easy to be a wheelchair user. At the same time, she also admits that she is no longer surprised when she encounters a staircase or a high kerb. It has become a part of everyday life. "At the same time, it would be a dream if there was easy access everywhere for me as a wheelchair user. I don't always want to be the centre of attention because someone has to help me in or out of a building," says Solvår.
Nature Provides Positive Energy
Solvår is a woman who loves outdoor activities and animals. She combines these two interests by horse riding twice a week. "Horseback riding is magic for me," says Solvår. Riding a horse gives Solvår a unique opportunity to get close to nature and move through uneven terrain. "When you sit on a horse, you get a special connection with the animal, and the fact that it carries you through the forest on its back is a truly majestic experience. The silence, the sound of leaves under the horse's hooves, and all the colours. It is therapy for me," says Solvår with joy and enthusiasm.
She also describes the pleasure of experiencing the combination of nature and speed when she uses her recumbent bike during the summer months.
CP: A Lifelong Perspective
As a young girl, Solvår used an NF-Walker, which helped her transition to simpler aids and crutches. Crutches are the walking aids she has used most throughout life.
What is an NF-WALKER?
The NF-walker is a gait trainer enabling children, even with very low motor function, to stand and walk independently, while keeping their hands free.
Over several years, Solvår received botulinum toxin treatment and found it effective. However, she eventually experienced significant limitations and pain as a result of spasticity and needed to explore alternative options. During high school, she applied to be approved for a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) operation. Although she was not considered a candidate for this procedure in her home country Norway, with determination and support from her family and friends, in 2018 she travelled to the USA at the age of 19 to undergo the surgical procedure. Subsequently, she succeeded in winning her case and received financial reimbursement for the expenses incurred by the costly operation.
Solvår describes her first experience of walking again after undergoing SDR surgery in the USA as extraordinary: "It was a remarkable sensation; an indescribable feeling. Previously, walking felt like rubber bands were holding my legs back. Now, it felt as though my legs would spring towards the ceiling with just the thought of movement. A fantastic experience."
She explains that removing spasticity through surgery also results in a loss of muscle strength, requiring significant effort and training to regain it.
She currently aims to do strength and balance training at the gym twice a week. However, due to her studies and caring for small children, it is challenging to achieve this goal.
Solvår emphasises the importance of physical activity and exercise in maintaining her motor function and mental health. In recent years, due to the demands of caring for her children, she has increasingly relied on a wheelchair, leading to less activity and her personal training became less of a priority. Consequently, she has experienced a noticeable decline in strength and flexibility.
"When I don't get to use my body, I feel like my mind withers," Solvår.
Given the changes in her life circumstances and reduced opportunities for training outside the home, Solvår recognised the need to facilitate physical activity at home in a new way.
Innowalk as an activity aid
Solvår is familiar with Innowalk, having used the product during her teenage years. Now, at a new stage in life with different needs, she believes Innowalk could facilitate more upright activity in her busy daily routine, which largely involves sitting. After a trial period, Innowalk was permanently installed in Solvår's home in 2023.
What is an Innowalk?
The Innowalk is an innovative dynamic standing device, that enables movement and physical activity for children, adolescents and adults with significantly reduced independent standing and walking abilities
"Having Innowalk at home allows me to stand and move, for example, after the children have gone to bed or while they are in kindergarten. It is an activity that is easily accessible to me," says Solvår.
The consequence of less activity has meant that Solvår's legs are colder, but she reports that using the Innowalk improves her circulation making her entire body and legs warmer. "I also notice that my walking function improves after I have walked for half an hour in Innowalk. It's as if my brain can better coordinate the walking movement," Solvår explains.
Solvår would like to maintain some walking function indoors and hopes that increased activity in Innowalk can contribute to that.
In recent years, Solvår has also used a vibration plate (Hypervibe) in combination with training in the Innowalk. She typically stands on this vibration plate for 10 minutes either before or after the activity in Innowalk. Using these two methods in combination is noted to be effective, particularly for circulation in the body. The vibration plate is also used to improve balance and coordination.
Activity is important for Solvår, and she is constantly seeking activities that suit her. In this regard, Beitostølen Health Sports Centre is a significant player.
Beitostølen Health Sports Centre*
"I love Beitostølen Health Sports Centre," says Solvår. She describes their approach to meeting her needs as absolutely fantastic. She finds them to be very solution-oriented, seeing possibilities and not focusing on problems, which Solvår greatly appreciates. They see her as the person she is and promote her ability to be as independent as possible.
"The first time I was at Beitostølen after becoming a mum, we had wheelchair technique training, and the instructor said, 'When you, for example, push the puschair, you hold one hand on the pushchair and then alternate on the wheel rim.' Her approach to it was as if it was the most natural thing in the world," explains Solvår.
"I like that I am met as Solvår and not as a patient," concludes Solvår.
*Beitosøten Health Sports Centre is a Norwegian rehabilitation centre focusing on adaptive sportsactivities for children, young people and adults with a disability.
