Hi, my name is Amy Bradley and I have set this GoFundMe up on behalf of my sister Abigail Bradley-Westguard.  We are aiming to raise £4,100 so we can purchase some Twion wheels for her wheelchair.

Nearly 8 years ago Abby was diagnosed with a condition called Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), this is a neurological condition that can manifest itself in many different ways and affects the central nervous system.  For Abby, at her worst, this led to total paralysis of her body.  At her best it causes paralysis from the waist down and intermittent paralysis of her arms.

Despite this over the past 6 years Abby has gone back to college and gone to University to study for her undergraduate and Masters degrees.  Whilst at University Abby decided the best thing was for her to have a power wheelchair to ensure she could get to her lectures easily and promptly.  However she often found this limiting as getting into some places can be very hard as power wheelchairs are larger and more cumbersome.  It also greatly affected her fitness as she was not having to exert herself when using this method to get herself around.

After moving back to her local area 1 1/2 years ago Abby made the decision to go back to a manual wheelchair as she felt this gave her the better quality of life in the long run.  It is when she started using her manual wheelchair more often that she encountered other problems.  She is able to self-propel for only a short period of time, this is mainly due to the fact she also has Rheumatoid Arthritis which affects her hands greatly, and living at the bottom of a hill doesn't help matters either!

After doing some research Abby found a product called Twion wheels.  These are a pair of wheels that can fit onto her current wheelchair and which she self-propels with but they also have a battery pack in the wheels which gives her assistance and power - similar to that of an electric bicycle.  Abby has had the opportunity to trial these wheels a couple of times and the difference they make to her life is huge - they allow her to get out and about much more independently and hopefully help make the steps towards her next achievement which is studying for a PhD.  But as they attach onto her manual wheelchair if she needs extra assistance, for example if the FND affects her arms and she loses the use of them we are still able to push the chair which means she can still get outside which was harder when she used a power wheelchair.  Unfortunately they are not available on the NHS and therefore have to be paid for privately.  Her power wheelchair came through the Motability scheme but there is currently no way, other than going private, which allows Abby to obtain the Twion wheels.

As her sister and her carer seeing the difference the wheels made to Abby was amazing.  She was getting more exercise and a level of independence she has not been able to have in a long time.  Having to give the wheels back after the trial was very difficult as we knew it would take us a while to be able to purchase Abby a set of her own.

We have started to raise money and so far have managed to raise £300, we have also contacted a number of charities to see if they are able to help.  We will continue to try and raise money anyway we can but we are also seeing if anybody is able to help.  

Anything you can donate will be hugely appreciated as the difference made to my sisters life will be massive.

Links to useful sites:

http://www.fndaction.org.uk - more information on FND

http://www.cinqueportsmobility.com/products/item/invacare-twion.html?category_id=27 - more information on Twion wheels