Celeste takes on the park

Hello everyone. My name is Celeste, I’m a paraplegic.  July 25th 1994, was the worst day of my life. A lot of ppl wouldn’t know this, cause everyday I literally push on with a smile. But that day changed my old life.. into the one I’m living in now. I was visiting Chicago for the weekend, sitting in the car passenger side listening to music, with my then 2 yr old son. A man walks up to the window and says hey you. I turned and look at the barrel of a 357.  The guy shot, hitting me in my chest (an inch away from my heart) all I could think about was saving my son who was standing on the back seat.. I used my right arm to push his head down hard as I could, then the guy shoots again.. this time I get hit under my arm,  he wasn’t done.. then he shoots me in my rib cage area.. and that’s the bullet that traveled to the left side severing my spine. I fell unconscious, head slumped over to the left. The guy still wanted to finish his job, he walked to the driver side window and tried to shoot me in the head, he missed, but shot my left thigh instead.. he also tried to shoot and kill my son. But when I awoke from what I thought was a horrific dream, I knew right away I was paralyzed.  That’s my story.. being a paraplegic at 19 with 2 kids was truly hard.. but life didn’t stop.. I’ve always been an independent woman.. I never let these 4 wheels define my life. I had a daughter when I was 25, got married a few years later to the love of my life.. I told you guys all of that to say this.. I really enjoy the simple thing in life.. my husband and I picked up a hobby, walks in nature parks on pathway trails. what we call our park adventures.. and I hurt so bad when it’s a lot of parks I can’t travel, and enjoy with him.. and when we are on a pathway he has to push me up inclines, where we don’t cover much ground.. I push myself a lot also. But I am getting older and the time we spend maneuvering takes away the joy of the adventures. We both leave happy, but exhausted.. I would love to get this off road adaptive wheelchair. Where I can enjoy the trails that has gravel, sand and rocks also.  so I can be and feel free.  It’s from a company called not a wheelchair.. it’s an adaptive chair for ppl on the go.. the price is 4,750.00 I would love this so much. Watching videos of this chair gives me so much hope.. and then I feel sad cause I know I can’t afford it.  I would appreciate donations so one my dream can finally come true… to feel normal again.. thanks for listening ❤️ Please feel free to share my story