Walking canes are not about age. There are sticks for kids, young and old person. Sometimes people strugle because of health problems, and we all know that deseases are also not about age. In this blog we want to share with you about one young lady and her story of life with walking cane...


Walking canes are not about age. Sticks for kids, young and old person


Young person with cane

"Coming to terms with the fact that I needed to use a walking cane was initially very difficult for me. After all, I wasn’t old, and the stigma around walking canes is that they are only for the use of the elderly. I was 16 years old and barely able to walk half the time. The pain of Fibromyalgia consumed every minute of my life (it still does), and I was barely getting out of the house besides going to school.

I didn’t even have the energy to grocery shop, which is something I had always enjoyed helping my mother with. At that stage, I had been coping with widespread chronic pain for about 9 years. I was struggling my way through high school, and I didn’t know if there was any hope for my future, since the pain has done nothing but get worse. My quality of life and self-esteem was almost nil. 

Getting a walking cane changed that completely. I was able to gain back some of the independence that I had when my pain was less severe. I’m now 19 and attending University part-time. I know for sure that without using a walking cane, I wouldn’t be able to cope with the commute to and from campus (believe me, I’ve tried).

My main fear when it came to using a walking cane was that people would judge me, and I’m not going to lie; they did. They still do. Despite what has been said to me, I continued to use my walking cane whenever I decided that I needed it, which was at least half of the time. As I continued to use it, I become more and more confident about it.

Now when I use my walking cane as a 19-year-old, I barely think about it unless someone mentions it to me. It’s a part of me, and I need it in order to be able to function in a semi-normal way. Medical professionals I have seen have approved of me using it, and nothing anyone says will change that.

A month or so ago, I was riding in an elevator at the local train station with an elderly man who also had a walking cane. He was looking me up and down, which is normal for me around older people.

He asked me “why are you using a walking cane? You aren’t my age.” I smiled at him, a bit taken aback, and politely replied “I have a chronic pain condition. It can make it difficult to walk.” I kept it simple, I didn’t want to go into details. He then replied “well I’m old. I’m allowed to use one.” The doors opened just as he finished his sentence, and I exited the elevator thinking about what he had said.

Was he trying to say that only old people were allowed to use walking canes? I didn’t let what he said upset me, I just carried on with my day as usual and kind of pushed it out of my mind. The memory then resurfaced when I was thinking about what was said about me to my mother.

My aim with writing my experiences in this article is to spread awareness about young people worldwide who use walking canes due to their health. They do exist, and they certainly aren’t trying to mock anyone. They’re just trying to live their lives, like everyone else." 

Amy Clements
We hope that this story was interesting or even needed for you especialy if you are in the same situation. With all our hearts we believe that every person is beautiful and deserve happy life. So don`t shy about who you are! Be healthy!

You can see more details about walking canes for kids, young and old person here: