Hi, I'm Jane. I've lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) since about age 12, and I've been in a power wheelchair for decades. I've been primarily in bed for nearly a year; I'll get into that in a moment.

• I have an urgent medical need. I live in the Dallas area and need to get to Houston, where a specialist is waiting to remove a huge polyp found during a colonoscopy. It may or may not be cancerous, but either way, I don't want it.

My Social Security is no longer getting me through a normal month, so I need your help to travel. This trip will require renting a wheelchair-accessible van for a week, two hotel rooms—one for my attendant for that week, and one for me for a few days before I'm admitted to the hospital. And the rental of a hospital bed since hotels no longer seem to have them available. Then there are meals, of course, and some sort of care for my two rescued dogs.

The early trip is necessary because I have two DVTs (deep-vein thromboses) in my leg. My hematologist has determined that I can make the trip as long as I stay on my blood-thinner. I will need to be off of that medication for three days before the procedure; that makes my hotel necessary.

• My biggest long-term need is a ceiling-mounted lift: a SureHands® Body Support https://www.surehands.com/products/surehands-body-support or a similar lift will allow me to move independently to and from bed, wheelchair, and bathroom. This is critical to allow me to get out of bed, where I have voluntarily been for many months. You see, years ago, I got two rotator cuff tears in my right shoulder when my spastic right arm didn't want to reach around the equipment during a mammogram. Nearly 3 years ago, my left shoulder began to hurt. The MRI showed that every tendon as well as some bone itself was injured. As a now-retired Registered Occupational Therapist, I knew immediately that I was looking at an overuse injury. I bear my weight on my shoulders every time I do little push-ups to lift my body up and over toward the surface I am transferring to or from—bed, chair, toilet, or shower bench. I had no idea that I have been over-protecting my long-healed right shoulder.

The only solution was to put myself to bed, thus stopping more damage to my shoulders. But prolonged bed rest has its own problems, including DVTs in the legs.

In my situation, the only solution to that is the ceiling-mounted lift for which I was quoted $18,000 a year ago.

I thank you for anything you can offer to help, and I ask God to bless you greatly for caring.