Ben's Stand-up Wheelchair
My name is Ben Thompson. I am 32 years old. At the age of 22 I was the victim of a "one-punch" attack.
This left me with a severe brain injury and changed my life forever: I went from being independent and in charge of my life to being dependent on others for everything I do.
Since my brain injury I've been working hard in my Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech Pathology, and due to my efforts in therapy I have learned to speak, to eat, to use a computer and now to stand.
However, my current wheelchair only allows me to sit, so I can't stand whenever I want, and I need someone to help me. I have recenty trialled a stand-up wheelchair that allows me to stand up and move about whenever I like: I love it as it means I can stand to speak to people, and can do tasks such as use an ATM, and ask for a table at restaurants. In my current chair, people look over my head to my support worker as I am always sitting: when I am standing, people make eye contact and speak directly to me. Standing also means I can be on my feet as often as I want so my bones get stronger, my breathing and speech improves, my skin is safer from sores, and all of my internal organs function better.
However, the stand-up chair costs $40,000, and my funding organsiation Slow To Recover can only fund half of this, leaving me $20,000 short.
So I am hoping to raise the funds for this stand-up chair, which will change my life by allowing me to stand whenever I want!
This left me with a severe brain injury and changed my life forever: I went from being independent and in charge of my life to being dependent on others for everything I do.
Since my brain injury I've been working hard in my Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech Pathology, and due to my efforts in therapy I have learned to speak, to eat, to use a computer and now to stand.
However, my current wheelchair only allows me to sit, so I can't stand whenever I want, and I need someone to help me. I have recenty trialled a stand-up wheelchair that allows me to stand up and move about whenever I like: I love it as it means I can stand to speak to people, and can do tasks such as use an ATM, and ask for a table at restaurants. In my current chair, people look over my head to my support worker as I am always sitting: when I am standing, people make eye contact and speak directly to me. Standing also means I can be on my feet as often as I want so my bones get stronger, my breathing and speech improves, my skin is safer from sores, and all of my internal organs function better.
However, the stand-up chair costs $40,000, and my funding organsiation Slow To Recover can only fund half of this, leaving me $20,000 short.
So I am hoping to raise the funds for this stand-up chair, which will change my life by allowing me to stand whenever I want!
