Support for Cheri Michael
Donation protected
Dear Community,
As some of you know, my wife Cheri Michael had a car accident 3 years ago and her health has gotten progressively worse since then. [update December 8th 2015: Between October 2014 and September 2015 we have learned that the car accident resulted in a very complex medical picture with diagnosis including PTSD, fibromyalgia, and other neurological conditions which are further complicated by her existing Parkinson’s Disease.]
She is thirty-eight. I would say that up to 70% of her day, her muscles are cramped up in spasm and pain. The rest of the time she is in a high level of discomfort. In the last two years she has lost over 140 pounds and we have yet to figure out how to prevent her from losing more weight. She requires assistance and support the majority of her day.
It was only a few years ago that Cheri worked in retail in downtown Toronto and had her own business as a facilitator, educator and artist.
At present, Cheri is limited to her bed or a chair for most of the time, and most days someone has to get up in the middle of the night or in the early morning to help her move, eat and take her pills. Numerous times a day up to 90% of her body is in muscle spasm, she is almost totally paralyzed and she needs assistance for basic things like lifting an arm, moving, eating and going to the washroom. At this point she is not able to be left alone and needs a trained supporter with her 24 hours a day.
While we do get limited government assisted care hours they are not even close to enough and we have had to hire other people to come in to give her the support that she needs. We are on now on waiting lists for supported housing, direct funding and ODSP, but these processes are lenghty and there are long waiting lists to get approval. In the meantime this situation has put our extended family into debt and we have almost reached the end of our credit line and financial resources.
Associated with her medical conditions come medical expenses (medications, assistive devices, etc.) and special food (she is on a sulfate, protein balanced and gluten free diet as these things react poorly with her system and medications) and the homecare costs which are piling up fast. We are hopeing to raise funds to cover the cost of a hospital bed ($3500), wheelchair ($1500) and person support hours ($4500).
Asking for assistance is not easy, but we can no longer do this on our own. We are asking people to help us out in any way or any amount they can. Even a donation of $5 or sharing this page with your friends makes a difference.
Other useful gifts include unused gift cards such as for Loblaw's, Walmart and Amazon. We are also looking for connections to companies and foundations that make larger donations such as grants, awards and financial contributions.
Please share widely to help Cheri live a more comfortable life. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer,
Will, Cheri and our whole family
As some of you know, my wife Cheri Michael had a car accident 3 years ago and her health has gotten progressively worse since then. [update December 8th 2015: Between October 2014 and September 2015 we have learned that the car accident resulted in a very complex medical picture with diagnosis including PTSD, fibromyalgia, and other neurological conditions which are further complicated by her existing Parkinson’s Disease.]
She is thirty-eight. I would say that up to 70% of her day, her muscles are cramped up in spasm and pain. The rest of the time she is in a high level of discomfort. In the last two years she has lost over 140 pounds and we have yet to figure out how to prevent her from losing more weight. She requires assistance and support the majority of her day.
It was only a few years ago that Cheri worked in retail in downtown Toronto and had her own business as a facilitator, educator and artist.
At present, Cheri is limited to her bed or a chair for most of the time, and most days someone has to get up in the middle of the night or in the early morning to help her move, eat and take her pills. Numerous times a day up to 90% of her body is in muscle spasm, she is almost totally paralyzed and she needs assistance for basic things like lifting an arm, moving, eating and going to the washroom. At this point she is not able to be left alone and needs a trained supporter with her 24 hours a day.
While we do get limited government assisted care hours they are not even close to enough and we have had to hire other people to come in to give her the support that she needs. We are on now on waiting lists for supported housing, direct funding and ODSP, but these processes are lenghty and there are long waiting lists to get approval. In the meantime this situation has put our extended family into debt and we have almost reached the end of our credit line and financial resources.
Associated with her medical conditions come medical expenses (medications, assistive devices, etc.) and special food (she is on a sulfate, protein balanced and gluten free diet as these things react poorly with her system and medications) and the homecare costs which are piling up fast. We are hopeing to raise funds to cover the cost of a hospital bed ($3500), wheelchair ($1500) and person support hours ($4500).
Asking for assistance is not easy, but we can no longer do this on our own. We are asking people to help us out in any way or any amount they can. Even a donation of $5 or sharing this page with your friends makes a difference.
Other useful gifts include unused gift cards such as for Loblaw's, Walmart and Amazon. We are also looking for connections to companies and foundations that make larger donations such as grants, awards and financial contributions.
Please share widely to help Cheri live a more comfortable life. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer,
Will, Cheri and our whole family
Organizer
Bill Dewsbury
Organizer
