Megans Wheelchair

Megan is one of my oldest and closest friends. She is a wife and mother of two beautiful girls, Hailey and Allie. Megan and I have shared a lot over the years, and now it's time that someone is able to share a little with her.

Megan has had ongoing health problems most of her life. Nothing could ever be diagnosed as a reason for these issues, and the frustration for Megan and her family has been ongoing.

In April 2016, a doctor finally took the time to help her and her family connect the pieces of the overwhelming puzzle and Megan was officially diagnosed with Dysautonomia.

Dysautonomia is a dysfunction of your autonomic nervous system (ANS). This means that the automatic things our bodies usually do are not happening "automatically" and this is obviously very important. Our autonomic nervous system controls our heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and more. Because of the complexity and demanding nature of these conditions, dysautonomia can be very difficult to diagnose.
Unfortunately for Megan and others affected, there is no treatment and there is no cure. The prognosis is poor with a significantly shortened life span.

Megan has presented with significant functional decline over the past 3 months because of her diagnosis.
One of Megan's primary symptoms has been significant syncopal episodes.
When we stand, gravity pulls our blood downward toward our legs. This causes blood to drain from the brain. In a healthy person, the ANS tightens the muscles within the veins and alters the heart rate to make sure the blood doesn't collect in the legs and feet.
With Megan, this mechanism does not work correctly. She is more likely to faint as blood leaves the brain. Megan has injured herself numerous times because of these syncopal episodes. It's dangerous for her to walk too far or stand too long without fainting and hitting her head or other body parts. When Megan has her episodes, it's important for her to re-establish blood flow in the Trendelenburg position.

Therefore, it has been recommended and proved necessary for Megan to have a power wheelchair with electric tilt, electric recline, and electric leg lift to support her functional independence and safety at home. Without this wheelchair, Megan is not able to safely ambulate.

They have found a wheelchair that does all of these things for Megan, and it's ordered and sitting waiting for them to pick up. Unfortunately, insurance will not approve the chair. This leaves Megan and her family looking to other resources to afford it. The company has cut the cost of the wheelchair for them, but even with this cut, the chair is $16,500.

I wrote this and made this page to ask all of you, friends, family, strangers, to take a minute and say a prayer or keep this family in your thoughts.
And beyond that, if you're able to, please consider donating to the fund to help pay for Megan's wheelchair.

The family has been applying for loans, but even if approved, they will have significant payments on the wheelchair, the handicap accessible vehicle, medical bills, and more.

I can't state enough how beneficial and crucial this wheelchair would be for Megan and her family. If they can't afford it, Megan will be left without a way to successfully restore blood flow and limit her ability to move around independently.

Megan and her family have a long hard road ahead of them. Megan's time with her girls, her husband, her family and friends in invaluable. Her body will be limited and we want to help her gain back a part of her independence.

Please consider a donation and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read this and considering supporting Megan and her family.

God Bless