Julia Porzelt is a team athlete: together with her horses Dainty and Bruno, she is internationally successful in dressage. She never gets bored: besides intensive training, she goes jogging and works with her retriever dog Feline – her assistance dog in training. Which celebrities she would like to train with and how she otherwise rolls, she tells us on REHACARE.com.
Name: Julia Porzelt Age: 25 City: Prien am Chiemsee, Germany Occupation: Office specialist at the Pusteblume early intervention centre Impairment: Two thigh prostheses, three fingers on each hand, the right elbow is stiff, the left elbow has limited movement
Julia Porzelt: When I can spend time with my friends.
Which auxiliary means or daily living aids are indispensable for you?
Julia Porzelt: I cannot do without my prostheses. I use them every day. I also would not want to do without my wheelchair at home. What would you like to see from society and your fellow people in dealing with people with disabilities?
Julia Porzelt: I would like my fellow human beings to accept me as I am and that it is nothing special that I am a little different.
Which assistive device would urgently need to be invented and/or improved?
Julia Porzelt: Knee joints for prostheses should be invented that are just as safe as a C-Leg but weigh less.
What has been your biggest challenge so far that you have mastered – and what has helped you to do so?
Julia Porzelt: I successfully conducted a trial for sports prostheses from 2014 to 2019. The goal in mind and my will not to give up have helped me a lot.
What can the assistive technology industry learn from the Corona pandemic to make life easier and/or better for people with disabilities in the future?
Julia Porzelt: That sometimes assistive devices have to be approved and authorised more quickly, like the vaccine now. I broke my arm a few years ago and was dependent on a power wheelchair for about six weeks. The health insurance company didn't want to approve it at first and then only approved it because my mother put a lot of pressure on them.
If nothing would be impossible: Who would you like to meet one day and why?
Julia Porzelt: Everyone should try to be grateful for what they have and can do and always make the best of their situation. I can do many things that others with my disability cannot. But that's only because I rarely give up and for many things I have to practise for a long time and make an effort until they work.