Thats a tough one. I have MS and was stubborn as well. I guess I didn't want to "give in" to my disability. I also was worried people would look at me funny. I kind of also thought people would feel sorry for me. Being only 30 and having to use a cane is tough to take. I now use a cane for short distances i.e. less than 100 ft and a wheel chair for anything longer. I guess for me, I basically didn't use assistive devices until I had to. It took a lot of convincing from some of my friends. I guess a big thing that helped convince me was that I was greatly limiting my activities, because I wouldn't do anything that would require me to walk very far, so I pretty much just stayed home. I also fell a few times, and in front of other people, which was more embarrassing than just using a cane or wheel chair. I suppose some people do feel a little sorry for me when they see a fairly young guy in a wheel chair, but in all honesty the vast majority are very nice and friendly, much more so than if I wasn't disabled. I think I was kind of feeling sorry for myself. One very good friend, told me that others pick up on that, and kind of feel like "hey if you're going to be depressed and do nothing to help yourself, why should I?" One comment that always made sense to me was something to the effect of "maybe you were dealt a bad hand, but you've got to play with the cards you were dealt and make the most of them"

I guess I'm rambling here. Its hard to give advice on this as it is very individual. The reasons I was hesitant to use walking aids might be different than your friends fathers reasons. I hope something I said is helpful to you.

good luck.