Help Becky Get Back on Her Bike
Donation protected
Hello
I’m Becky, I’m 46, and fitness and exercise have always been one of the ways I’ve been able to self-manage the complex health conditions that have gradually reduced my mobility, and threatened my life.
In 2018 I did a virtual cycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats, raising £2,000 to support the specialist gym that changed my life by getting me active following a devastating spinal injury.
The pandemic means the gym is closed and doctor tell me that I may never be able to use a gym like this again, because my weakened immune system means that the risk of Covid exposure is too high, even once things get back to normal for most people.
So, I’m seeking to raise around £4,500 to bring the gym to me by purchasing a MotoMed. This is a specialist exercise bike for people who have paralysis or partial paralysis – identical to the one that I used for my marathon cycle.
Why do I need specialist equipment?
I have diabetes and a rare and life-threatening form of asthma – a particular worry during the pandemic, where infection with Covid-19 would be catastrophic.
Exercise has always been key to me. It reduces the amount of injected insulin I need by helping keep my blood sugars under control, protecting me from heart and kidney disease. It also helps maximise my lung capacity, which puts me in the best possible shape to manage my asthma, and it’s a great way to help protect my mental health too.
Part of my treatment for asthma involves very high doses of steroids. Steroids have a number of serious side-effects, including osteoporosis. In 2016 this caused sudden fractures in my vertebrae, leading to a spinal cord injury, which, despite surgery, means I have greatly reduced mobility and need to use a powered wheelchair.
Why now?
Before coronavirus lockdowns began in March 2020, I had been going to a specialist gym where all the equipment was made specifically for use from a wheelchair. I particularly enjoyed using the MotoMed bike. A couple of years ago I did a sponsored ‘ride’ on the MotoMed at the gym to raise money for them. I cycled my own planned route from Land’s End to John O’Groats, which was a total of 1022.5 miles.
Here I am at the finish line
When Covid-19 hit, the gym closed, and I had to start shielding.
I’m very immunosuppressed from the steroids I take for my asthma, and my immunologist has said that it’s too dangerous for me to return to the gym whilst coronavirus is around. This probably means forever.
Inactivity and the lack of ability to exercise since the lockdowns led to me developing DVTs (Deep Vein Thromboses) in both legs, which then caused blood clots in both lungs (Pulmonary Emboli – PEs). I was in hospital for seven weeks, extremely poorly, and it was uncertain that I’d live.
I need to find a way to exercise again to help prevent these life-threatening blood clots happening again in the future.
Why is a MotoMed the solution?
There are so few options for exercise – particularly lower-body – when you’re a wheelchair user with paralysis/partial paralysis, and even fewer options when you’re also shielding and not allowed to leave the house for a year (or more)!
This is a MotoMed
A MotoMed is a specialist exercise bike that is used directly from a wheelchair. It can provide assistance to people who are paralysed, either by stimulating their own muscles, or by using a ‘passive mode’, which assists by moving the pedals. The MotoMed also encourages development of equal strength in both legs – crucial for preserving and improving any walking ability for people like myself who usually have one leg weaker than the other.
It is also possible to include a hand-cycle option, which I’d certainly benefit from, helping me with upper-body exercise that has a good cardio element too. If I were able to raise the extra funds, this is what I’d hope to buy.
How much money do I need to raise?
The MotoMed model suiting my basic needs costs £3,500, although I’d ideally raise another £1,000 to cover some future servicing costs. That takes it to £4,500.
If I raised enough, I’d get a MotoMed with a hand-cycle for £4,750, again hoping to have an extra £1,000 for future servicing costs. This takes the total I need to raise for a hand-cycle option MotoMed to £5,750.
How can you help?
I have been desperate to find a way to exercise again, and since nearly dying after the blood clots in my lungs it’s been clear that I absolutely have to find a way to exercise my legs and do what I can to prevent the same thing from happening again. The MotoMed will allow that.
My health is so fragile, and my disabilities impact so significantly on my life, that I’m not able to work, though I’d love to be able to. I don’t have the money to buy a MotoMed myself, but you can help by donating to my cause and helping me raise the money I need.
Please donate anything you can. Even £1 will help me get that little bit closer to my target, and will have a significant effect on my health. It could even help keep me alive a bit longer by improving my diabetes control again, and most importantly, preventing any more blood clots on my lungs.
I’m Becky, I’m 46, and fitness and exercise have always been one of the ways I’ve been able to self-manage the complex health conditions that have gradually reduced my mobility, and threatened my life.
In 2018 I did a virtual cycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats, raising £2,000 to support the specialist gym that changed my life by getting me active following a devastating spinal injury.
The pandemic means the gym is closed and doctor tell me that I may never be able to use a gym like this again, because my weakened immune system means that the risk of Covid exposure is too high, even once things get back to normal for most people.
So, I’m seeking to raise around £4,500 to bring the gym to me by purchasing a MotoMed. This is a specialist exercise bike for people who have paralysis or partial paralysis – identical to the one that I used for my marathon cycle.
Why do I need specialist equipment?
I have diabetes and a rare and life-threatening form of asthma – a particular worry during the pandemic, where infection with Covid-19 would be catastrophic.
Exercise has always been key to me. It reduces the amount of injected insulin I need by helping keep my blood sugars under control, protecting me from heart and kidney disease. It also helps maximise my lung capacity, which puts me in the best possible shape to manage my asthma, and it’s a great way to help protect my mental health too.
Part of my treatment for asthma involves very high doses of steroids. Steroids have a number of serious side-effects, including osteoporosis. In 2016 this caused sudden fractures in my vertebrae, leading to a spinal cord injury, which, despite surgery, means I have greatly reduced mobility and need to use a powered wheelchair.
Why now?
Before coronavirus lockdowns began in March 2020, I had been going to a specialist gym where all the equipment was made specifically for use from a wheelchair. I particularly enjoyed using the MotoMed bike. A couple of years ago I did a sponsored ‘ride’ on the MotoMed at the gym to raise money for them. I cycled my own planned route from Land’s End to John O’Groats, which was a total of 1022.5 miles.
Here I am at the finish lineWhen Covid-19 hit, the gym closed, and I had to start shielding.
I’m very immunosuppressed from the steroids I take for my asthma, and my immunologist has said that it’s too dangerous for me to return to the gym whilst coronavirus is around. This probably means forever.
Inactivity and the lack of ability to exercise since the lockdowns led to me developing DVTs (Deep Vein Thromboses) in both legs, which then caused blood clots in both lungs (Pulmonary Emboli – PEs). I was in hospital for seven weeks, extremely poorly, and it was uncertain that I’d live.
I need to find a way to exercise again to help prevent these life-threatening blood clots happening again in the future.
Why is a MotoMed the solution?
There are so few options for exercise – particularly lower-body – when you’re a wheelchair user with paralysis/partial paralysis, and even fewer options when you’re also shielding and not allowed to leave the house for a year (or more)!
This is a MotoMedA MotoMed is a specialist exercise bike that is used directly from a wheelchair. It can provide assistance to people who are paralysed, either by stimulating their own muscles, or by using a ‘passive mode’, which assists by moving the pedals. The MotoMed also encourages development of equal strength in both legs – crucial for preserving and improving any walking ability for people like myself who usually have one leg weaker than the other.
It is also possible to include a hand-cycle option, which I’d certainly benefit from, helping me with upper-body exercise that has a good cardio element too. If I were able to raise the extra funds, this is what I’d hope to buy.
How much money do I need to raise?
The MotoMed model suiting my basic needs costs £3,500, although I’d ideally raise another £1,000 to cover some future servicing costs. That takes it to £4,500.
If I raised enough, I’d get a MotoMed with a hand-cycle for £4,750, again hoping to have an extra £1,000 for future servicing costs. This takes the total I need to raise for a hand-cycle option MotoMed to £5,750.
How can you help?
I have been desperate to find a way to exercise again, and since nearly dying after the blood clots in my lungs it’s been clear that I absolutely have to find a way to exercise my legs and do what I can to prevent the same thing from happening again. The MotoMed will allow that.
My health is so fragile, and my disabilities impact so significantly on my life, that I’m not able to work, though I’d love to be able to. I don’t have the money to buy a MotoMed myself, but you can help by donating to my cause and helping me raise the money I need.
Please donate anything you can. Even £1 will help me get that little bit closer to my target, and will have a significant effect on my health. It could even help keep me alive a bit longer by improving my diabetes control again, and most importantly, preventing any more blood clots on my lungs.
Organizer
Becky Giles
Organizer
England
