Getting Lee back out there further and faster

"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while you might just miss it!"

A great quote from the great 80's teen movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and so very true. My name is Lee and life was moving pretty fast for me until all it changed in a split second back on 4th July 2010. I broke my neck in a swimming accident and grazed my spinal cord instantly paralyzing me from the shoulders down and turning my life and whole world on it's head. (please pardon the puns..there may be a few). This practically forced me to stop and take a look around. I was 38 yrs old when it happened and have progressed very well in this time despite many set backs, to the point of walking with some assistance and much determination even though I was told I'd never walk again. I have never believed or accepted this and I do see me walking again...in a fashion. I have always been positive since the accident but through injury and general wear and tear it has waned somewhat, especially over this last couple of years or so. However, we live in the present and although I have come a long way in the last 11 yrs it is the going a long way which is now becoming a big issue. My arms and shoulders have been my legs and hips for so long and the toll is now showing and it is getting increasingly more difficult to get around, even a small journey of a few hundred yards is now extremely physically demanding. I love to be out and about and socialising, I've always been an outdoor person, going on nature trails, country walks, music concerts and events in fields, and much more, and now popping around the corner to shop is no easy task. I also have a puppy cockapoo who will be trained as an assistance dog early next year when he is old enough. I would love to take him out for walks etc before then and get him used to how I roll.

It's a hard fact to face but it's true I'm not getting any younger or stronger and must accept that I am at a time in my life of needing some assistance but I'm really not ready to give in and go fully motorised yet, and not for as long as I can help it. Sitting around in a chair all day every day is not as cool or as easy as it seems and is much harder to cope with when you're restricted and struggle to venture out to where you'd like to go rather than where you are limited to go. There are many disability aids out there which unfortunately are overpriced and very expensive and therefore not very accessible to many others in similar situations to my own.

So..there is a piece of equipment I've found called The Smartdrive MX2. With this power aid my world could be changed yet again.. only for the better this time around.The MX2 is basically a battery powered wheel which fixes to the axle of a manual wheelchair and assists in moving power once activated. Not only could my day to day getting around improve but my social, mental and physical states would be elevated, opportunities to go to more places and more choice to be involved in different activities would be possible with more ease and less chance of injury. The impact, mentally and physically, of having equipment like this and the ability it would bring is nothing short of a new lease of life, quite literally, and I'd consider that priceless, only the price is beyond my reach coming in at over £6000 and now presents another time in my life where I must accept that I need some assistance. Therefore I humbly ask for any support and generosity that may be available and gratefully accept any donations/ contributions made.

Many thanks

Lee Haldenby