Dreaming of a mobility scooter
I have been lucky in life in many ways, but unfortunately my physical health is not one of them. I suffered with unexplained pain as a child along with seizures that have never been explained beyond 'not epilepsy'. They are triggered by severe pain and sensory overload, which I believe is attributed to the Aspergers diagnosis I received in my 20's.
When I was 11, something also unexplained happened to my right hip, causing extreme pain. Breakages and anything serious were ruled out and we were told I'd grow out of it, which I did in some respects though I had compensated for the pain by walking with my right leg twisted at an angle. Despite repeatedly telling medical professionals over the years that my leg was twisted, I was never offered physiotherapy or any other treatment. In my early 20's, I threw my back out due to the additional strain on my lower back, that never really healed. From my late 20's I have been on various pain medication that have cause their own additional hurdles. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia after a scan to rule out Ankylosing Spondylitis, which also revealed that a disc in my lower back had severely degraded and showed early signs of arthritis in 2 other sections.
In August 2018, the disc herniated and I began taking stronger painkillers to get by. It took 3 people 10 minutes just to get me off the floor, and 3 days to get out of bed for more than 5minutes. I was left on Naproxen for 9 months until I ended up in hospital with damage to my bowels. 6 months ago, I took an accidental blow to the back that injured the disc further, trapping a nerve that causes severe sciatica down my left leg when I walk in addition to the back pain and Fibromyalgia.
I have finally in the last few months been sent to some specialists, who were going to offer me standard nerve blockers. Unfortunately I cannot have them due to the risk of having a seizure with an epidural in my spine, meaning the only realistic course of action is to push for a discectomy that the specialists are reluctant to offer (or stay on painkillers forever). In the meantime, the 8x Co-codamol I'm taking each day is beginning to cause issues with my liver. It is likely that I will need to find £4,500 to have the operation done privately if I cannot persuade the specialists to do it via the NHS.
As a result of all of this, my mobility has deteriorated to a point in which I am stuck in the house for the most part unless a friend is available to pick me up and take me where I need to go. I have been using crutches if I need to walk for more than 10mins for quite some time, but I can only manage on the crutches for so long before I am in too much pain and become a burden on those around me. Many daily tasks have become quite difficult, and the medications that I am on to control the pain mean I can only function for 10 hours a day. Despite this, I do work part time to the best of my ability, am partway through a Research Masters Degree in genetics, and I intend to set up a business around the events I run in between.
This GoFundMe is to try and raise funds for a mobility scooter to allow me to get out and about again, and regain some of my independence. It would mean I could go to the shops without having to send a housemate, order takeaway, or just go without. I would be able to get to the swimming pool to try and get my weight back under control again. I would be able to go on holiday with friends without being so much of a burden and holding them back, and I'd be able to see more than my house or my street on a daily basis. It would make the events business I hope to build to become less reliant on government aid considerably more feasible. It would very much help the often overwhelming depression I find myself succumbing to more and more often. In short, it would make a very big difference to my life.
Most second hand folding scooters that I can find appear to go for £800-£1000, but I'm hoping to find a good deal with my goal of £500 if I'm patient. Alternatively, there are non-folding scooters for approx £250 if I can only achieve 50% of my goal. If you can spare a penny or two to help me get adventuring again, I would be very grateful. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
