Scewo fulfils (almost) every wish

«I would like to get to the mountains again and hopefully enjoy some beautiful views,» was Felix’s wish. No sooner said than done. Without further ado, we invited both winners to the Bernese Alps, where the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains offer a breathtaking panorama.

But unfortunately, even with BRO, we are not able to fulfil all wishes. 

But let’s start at the beginning.

What made us decide to make wishes come true with our BRO? 

In 2018, we won Cosanum’s IFAS Innovation Challenge and decided to give the prize money away to wheelchair users. This is how we came up with the idea for the «Scewo fulfils wishes» campaign: People with limited mobility can send us their wish for an experience that is only possible with the help of BRO.

Felix has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and is able to walk short distances. However, he has to keep a close eye on the ground, because the slightest bump could bring him to fall.  He wished to go to the mountains with BRO, as he often did in his childhood: «Climbing slopes and stairs is pretty much impossible because of my condition.» He was accompanied on his adventure on the Schilthorn by his wife Julia. The two met when Felix was already impaired by the disorder: «So far it had not been possible for us to go on such an excursion because the two of us would not have dared to do it without a wheelchair.»

Nora is 13 years old and has a muscle disorder; she has been reliant on an electric wheelchair all her life. Her initial wish had been to climb the Bantiger Tower with BRO. But since there are winding stairs leading to the viewing platform, we were unfortunately unable to fulfil her wish, even with BRO. But we didn’t want to deny her a great view and invited her to the mountains together with Felix.

The setting: A cool day in September in a parking lot in Stechelberg. Majestic mountains loom all around as far as the eye can see. Two cars arrive and in both are people with beaming faces. The welcome is warm and yet reserved, because the two do not yet know what awaits them in the next two days. 

They take a seat on their BROs, which we adjust to their needs, and go on their first test drive. It only takes them 15 minutes to master their BROs, as if they had been doing this all their lives. On we went to the first stop, the Edelweiss Hotel in the mountain village of Mürren.

After a restful night in the cosy hotel, the adventure begins. We took the cable car all the way to the top of Piz Gloria at just under 3000 metres above sea level. There, a hazy but spectacular view awaited us. A particularly practical feature here was BRO’s height adjustment mode, which also allowed Felix and Nora a panoramic view without safety fences in the way. After a warming coffee and a short tour of Bond World, we enjoyed a spaghetti lunch with a 360-degree view over the Alps.

Bellies full, we headed for the «Birg» stopover and the main attraction of the day, the «Thrill Walk». But St Peter had different plans for us. On the Birg we were greeted by pouring rain and the main attraction literally ended up being a wash.  

Finally, the rain stopped for a moment and the two were able to at least take their BROs up to the Skyline Walk (a viewing platform accessible via a few steps) and so test out BRO’s stair-climbing function. There they also enjoyed the view, «at least to the bottom», as Felix put it so nicely. Nora liked the driving experience with BRO the most: «It was very exciting to drive BRO, it is different to anything I’ve seen before.» She particularly enjoyed darting through the puddles.

Unfortunately, we cannot influence the weather, but the two winners and their companions were able to enjoy their days in the mountains even so. «In everyday life, we are often confronted with situations that we are told are barrier-free, but then there are steps after all, which always pose a hurdle for Felix. It was really great not to have had any hurdles today,» says Julia, Felix’s wife, summing up the excursion. «Nora is very restricted in her everyday life and it is always so wonderful for me when she can do something special,» says Daniela, Nora’s mother, thanking the Scewo team for making her wish come true. 

A day full of emotions and beautiful memories, which we too will remember for a long time.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Schilthornbahn AG for their generous sponsorship and the great support they provided in helping us make these wishes come true. We also want to thank our partner, Sanitätshaus Häussler, who delighted Felix and Nora with little surprises that always put a smile on their faces.