Collin Crusaders

I sat down to write this knowing it would be hard. How do you put into words how important someone is in your life. I could quote someone more profound than I, or I could simply state all the love I have for this individual. So I’ll leave it at that and let you think of the most important person in your life, then picture them hurting. You see, I am an advocate for a lot of things in my life, I make my passions known. My heart beats for individuals who have to fight a little harder than the rest of us to just find normalcy. My heart aches when they are misrepresented or failed by our society. Equality is more than just a word, it’s a war that some of us fight for ourselves, and some of us fight for others.  As I sit here typing, I have two functioning hands, I walked to get my computer, and sat down without anyone’s assistance. We take for granted the independence our body gives us. Its not until its gone that you start to realize how important our independence really is. We fight for freedom in all things, yet some, no matter how hard they fight, cannot achieve even the smallest of accomplishments.  Collin has to fight harder than most, he has muscular dystrophy. Until someone in your life is diagnosed with a life altering disease you don’t understand its impact. He is 25 years old, and although doctors might not agree, he is the strongest person I know. I am writing to you now because there has been an injustice. I try to reason with the other side, that its not just someone sitting behind a desk denying all appeals, but it makes it hard when he is the sitting right in front of me and I see my best friend fall deeper into despair. Collin needs a new wheelchair. Even with insurance it will cost over ten thousand dollars to get the kind of support he needs. He needs leg lifts, so he does not lose his legs. He needs a lift so he can have even the slightest amount of independence. Yet no matter how much his mother fights for his rights, they continued to be denied. She has had to fight more battles than I can even begin to describe, yet she is too strong to ask for help. It’s not a matter of pride, but a matter of her hopefulness for better, yet I watch as she loses battles she should not even have to fight. She is tired, she is overwhelmed but she is never beat and she will continue to fight. I thought I would take the chance to set up this fund for Collin’s Crusaders. Even if its only ten dollars every little bit will help us fight for his rights as a kind, loving, extravagant human being. He deserves better than what the insurance company is providing. They claim these two features are “quality of life” yet, last I checked he was entitled to his legs, and I see no future in which they are lost because of a technicality. So please, let this message reach you in a spirit of hope. I know we can raise the money Collin needs to get the wheelchair he deserves. Thank you for your time and consideration, you are more important in our fight than you know. Always Keep Fighting. - Erin