My name is Elma Pierce. I was involved in a horrific accident where I was struck by a drunk driver while I waited for a bus in Chicago. I was hospitalized for more than 3 years. I lost both my legs, as well as both my iliac crests. I had significant skin grafts, hip revisions, and bone reconstructions until I became ambulatory. After my discharge, I went back to school, got my degree, and got a job working for the Dean of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. After 16 years, I came to California and worked as Executive Assistant to a Medical Director and 7 Pathologists. Since my retirement, I have developed osteoporosis in both arms, rheumatoid arthritis in both hands, and experienced a torn rotator cuff in my left arm. I have been without a fully functioning wheelchair for over 14 months now. Medicare and my Supplemental Health Provider have denied the repairs needed for my wheelchair, and more recently, denied paying for a prosthetic leg casted for me a month ago. Since no one else can use the leg, I have asked to purchase it myself. An agency donated a wheelchair to me last week. It required 2 new batteries and cost me $650 for the visit. I have experienced falls; one just 2 weeks ago, where the current (zip-tied joystick) came loose, and I had to call the police to extricate the chair from the cinder block it was stuck on and get me safely back home.

I have worked hard all my life and not used the system, simply because I’m a double amputee. My hope is that I can raise enough funds to pay for the wheelchair batteries and at least one of my prosthetic legs that has been denied (due to the “new guidelines”).

I appreciate any financial assistance that will help me continue my independence and encouragement to help others like myself who are struggling right now. Thank you for your blessings. I am very grateful.