Hi, my name is Fred van Rooyen. I was born on 13 November 1967 in South Africa.

At the age of 9 I was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass. In muscular dystrophy, abnormal genes (mutations) interfere with the production of proteins needed to form healthy muscle. There are no cure for muscular dystrophy.

I could walk till the age of 14. I am in a wheelchair for the past 38 years. As I get older, I have less muscular power to push my wheelchair. The problem with pushing a wheelchair shoulders and wrists get damaged.

With the pivot  system a person use 50% less power to push a wheelchair so it is much more gentle on shoulders and wrists. For me with limited muscle power the pivot will help a lot so I can be more active in everyday life.

With a lever system and gears it reduce the use of muscle power.

In South Africa we don’t get any funds or assistance from our government to buy aids to help improve your daily life’s.

I would appreciate any donation to help me to buy the PIVOT SYSTEM from the USA.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story

Fred