Hi there,
My name is Busrah Osmanoglu and I am trying to raise money to buy a brand new power-chair.
A little about me:
I am 31 years old, living in London. I have Cerebral Palsy with Spastic Diplegia.
In short, Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disorder that affects the messages sent by my brain to the rest of my body.
This means that I am permanently in a power-chair and cannot walk unaided. Other symptoms include chronic pain and spasms which I need to take a lot of medications for.
As a young girl, my family were convinced by physio therapists and others that it would be best for me to use a power-chair all the time, (I used to use a manual chair) it was seen as the quickest way for me to achieve a level of independence in the shortest amount of time but this means I have lost a considerable amount of upper body strength.
I was able to raise funds back in 2006 for my first, non-NHS chair.
The change in my quality of life when I started using it was incredible. It enhanced my experience of university life and gave me my first taste of true independence as I studied for an undergraduate in media studies. BSc.
That was over 10 years ago. I still have that chair. I’m sitting in it right now. The company I bought it from have gone bust and it’s so old that it can’t be insured anymore. I have also been informed that, in the not too distant future, the company will stop supplying spare parts to fix breakages or ware and tear - all of which I have to pay for, by the way. I need to buy a new chair if only for the health and safety reasons alone.
As I’ve gotten older, the funds for such things have become less and less available as charities have age restrictions.
The alternatives provided by the NHS are cheaper but actually increase my limitations. They are more uncomfortable to sit in for long periods of time and make transferring (moving to-and-from the chair) more or less impossible without help. This means that I can’t use public disabled toilets if i’m out and about which increases my dependency on other people. I feel that these chairs make me more disabled.
My only alternative is to raise funds for another chair myself.
The chair I need is called an Evo Lectus and can be fully height-adjusted to accommodate my needs and make me as comfortable as possible.
The more uncomfortable I am, the more pain I’m in. So my comfort is absolutely essential. If I'm not having to think about pain too much, it means I can get on with life to the absolute best of my ability.
This new chair will allow me to function completely independently at home for extended periods of time. Reducing the strain on my friends and family and ultimately giving me a sense of control.
It will mean I can cook for myself, look after a flat, run errands and pursue my dreams of a job in the film industry.
I am not one to complain about things I don’t have but I can’t help but feel that I am being asked to raise money for a new pair of legs every 10 years or so.
Being able to buy the Evo Luctus is the difference between getting through life and actually trying to make something of it.
All I can do now is thank anyone in advance who read this and donated any amount, however small. Please be assured that all funds will be put to good use and if, touch wood, I reach my desired goal, I will not have any concerns about my wheelchair for the next 10 to fifteen years or so.
Thank you for your time
Busrah
My name is Busrah Osmanoglu and I am trying to raise money to buy a brand new power-chair.
A little about me:
I am 31 years old, living in London. I have Cerebral Palsy with Spastic Diplegia.
In short, Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disorder that affects the messages sent by my brain to the rest of my body.
This means that I am permanently in a power-chair and cannot walk unaided. Other symptoms include chronic pain and spasms which I need to take a lot of medications for.
As a young girl, my family were convinced by physio therapists and others that it would be best for me to use a power-chair all the time, (I used to use a manual chair) it was seen as the quickest way for me to achieve a level of independence in the shortest amount of time but this means I have lost a considerable amount of upper body strength.
I was able to raise funds back in 2006 for my first, non-NHS chair.
The change in my quality of life when I started using it was incredible. It enhanced my experience of university life and gave me my first taste of true independence as I studied for an undergraduate in media studies. BSc.
That was over 10 years ago. I still have that chair. I’m sitting in it right now. The company I bought it from have gone bust and it’s so old that it can’t be insured anymore. I have also been informed that, in the not too distant future, the company will stop supplying spare parts to fix breakages or ware and tear - all of which I have to pay for, by the way. I need to buy a new chair if only for the health and safety reasons alone.
As I’ve gotten older, the funds for such things have become less and less available as charities have age restrictions.
The alternatives provided by the NHS are cheaper but actually increase my limitations. They are more uncomfortable to sit in for long periods of time and make transferring (moving to-and-from the chair) more or less impossible without help. This means that I can’t use public disabled toilets if i’m out and about which increases my dependency on other people. I feel that these chairs make me more disabled.
My only alternative is to raise funds for another chair myself.
The chair I need is called an Evo Lectus and can be fully height-adjusted to accommodate my needs and make me as comfortable as possible.
The more uncomfortable I am, the more pain I’m in. So my comfort is absolutely essential. If I'm not having to think about pain too much, it means I can get on with life to the absolute best of my ability.
This new chair will allow me to function completely independently at home for extended periods of time. Reducing the strain on my friends and family and ultimately giving me a sense of control.
It will mean I can cook for myself, look after a flat, run errands and pursue my dreams of a job in the film industry.
I am not one to complain about things I don’t have but I can’t help but feel that I am being asked to raise money for a new pair of legs every 10 years or so.
Being able to buy the Evo Luctus is the difference between getting through life and actually trying to make something of it.
All I can do now is thank anyone in advance who read this and donated any amount, however small. Please be assured that all funds will be put to good use and if, touch wood, I reach my desired goal, I will not have any concerns about my wheelchair for the next 10 to fifteen years or so.
Thank you for your time
Busrah
Organizer
Busrah Osmanoglu
Organizer