Im Usually The Giver Not The Asker

I really and truly never thought that I would do this. I would look through the stories and feel so many in need. I alone have few options so...here I am. I am chalking this up to a learning experience about asking for help when you need it. I am going to try not to make this too long or too detailed. I am a newbie though so please be patient with me. My name is Tracie Egan. I’m 46 years old and live in South Florida. I have an amazing husband of 21 years. He is the most devoted and hard working husband and father. I am so grateful to him! I have three amazing children. Our oldest is 20 and we have 17 year old twins. Our children have giving and loving hearts that I’m so proud of! I graduated from college with a degree in Psychology and worked in retail management for several years. I always had a drive to make some kind of difference. Later, I went back to school with a full time job and three young children to get my teacher’s certification. It was where I was meant to be. I taught in a migrant farm workers’ community until my health wouldn’t let me anymore. My health started deteriorating about eight years ago. We initially thought that I was having Neurological issues with terrible muscle spasms, weakness and pain (especially in my face) like I’d never known. My condition deteriorated quickly even with the best Neurological care. I became weaker and weaker while my medical problems continued to pile up. It was not just Neurological. My endocrine system, vascular system, skeletal system have all been attacked by me. We finally found after years of search that I had something called Late Onset Combined Immunodeficiency. In basic terms, my immune system doesn’t do much of what it should to protect me, but it uses its energy to attack my own body. The latest has been a case of Vasculitis in my brain. I could list so many disorders that I have been diagnosed with including trigeminal neurolgia, myasthenia gravis, Lupus, adrenal insufficiency and so on. The reason that I am on here today is to ask for help in buying a special Reclining wheelchair so that I can BE with my family more. I also want to do simple things like go to church and help with the wonderful youth group there. My problem with a normal chair is that nerves are pinched in my lower and cervicale areas of my spine. Sitting for any period of time leaves me feeling like I’ve fallen on my tailbone. It also leaves my weakened neck in excruciating pain which often leads to terrible headaches or worse, the face pain of trigeminal neurolgia. A cushioned reclining wheelchair would not only help with neck support, but it would also relieve pressure and stress to my weak core and lower back. The one that we need us a bit more expensive due to its ability to fold down for transport. This way, we wouldn’t need to invest in a van lift. I should have asked for help with this a long time ago. We have tried to maneuver the many hoops and red tape of insurance. It just seems that we keep getting just one more thing to get filled out with no end. What gives me the push to do this now after so much time is that my Dad was just diagnosed with a serious cancer of blood plasma. I need to be able to function more. I can’t miss out on everything because it is so hard to be out of bed. I feel like I’m slowly disappearing. I don’t want to keep waiting and hoping when I could do something to hopefully make this chair s reality for me. I ask you to please help if you can. If you can’t, trust me, I understand your position. You will all be in my prayers as so many have kept me in their thoughts and prayers. Thank you