Ames Return to Nature

Hi hello, I hope you are all well!

My name is Ames and just under a year ago, I mostly stopped walking.

I've been moderately disabled for all of my life, using canes or crutches and, most recently, a rollator. Last year, I sustained an injury that requires the use of a wheelchair about 85% of the time. Through the wonderful support of some dear friends, I was able to get an ultralight daily driver chair that meets all of my needs in regular life.

Unfortunately, where one pair of working legs can be prevailed upon to do many different things, each activity requires a different, specialized wheelchair. Before this injury, my little family's favorite activities were camping and hiking, but if I take this chair off road it won't last long!

After some research, I found the GRIT freedom chair. Designed by students at MIT, the GRIT supplies drivetrain support, off-road tires/frame, and leverage-increasing push bars to allow the user to travel uneven, rocky, or hilly terrain. This chair can go where I currently could never dream of going.

Obviously, this is a want, not a need. My daily chair gets me to the gym, the doctor, the grocery store, and all around my house just fine. I could also wait a few years and save up for the chair myself, but with the way my body has continued to decline lately, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to use it, and I don't want to miss a minute.

If you have extra pennies to help me re-join Colin and the pets in the great outdoors, I'd greatly appreciate it!

This fundraising goal will get me a refurbished, simple GRIT chair. If we exceed the goal, I could add things like upgraded drivetrain for hills, ergonomic push bars to protect my wrists, or perhaps buy a new chair instead of a refurbished one.

Thank you all so much for reading thus far, and for all the love you always give me! Not walking is a huge adjustment, but my support network is making the road easier at every turn.

I love you all (Marta)

Ames.