Help Steve get a car wheelchair hoist

Hi,

 

My name is Steve, I am fundraising because I need a wheelchair hoist to get my wheelchair in and out of the car by myself.

 

I have an incurable cancer, Follicular Lymphoma and an incurable lung disease, Bronchiectasis.

Both of the conditions together have robbed me of my mobility, meaning that when I go out into the world I need a wheelchair and will need it for the rest of my life.

 

My wheelchair makes me very independent and allows me to access places I couldn't access otherwise. However, it weighs almost 30kg and requires 2 people to lift it in and out of the car, meaning my partner or another person must come with me to help me get my wheelchair in and out of the vehicle. This takes away part of my freedom as I have to organise car trips around the schedule of the person I need to come with me.

 

I do sometimes try and go out on my own and with a struggle I used to be able to get my chair in and out of the car by myself,  this is me struggling to get it out on my own,  This totally wipes me out, after getting that far I don't have the energy to even open it up and I have to sit down in the road next to it for a little while to get my energy back before I can even open it to use it.



Now I have to ask passing people to help me , this had mixed results with some helping, others just ignoring me and a few being downright rude to me for even asking them for help. As my diseases have progressed I can no longer lift my chair in and out by myself so I am fundraising to get a boot hoist for my car

 

 

 

 

 

Having one of these would give me real freedom to go out as it would mean I don't need anyone to accompany me just to help me get the chair out of the car.

 

My 2 conditions combined mean I am also very immunosuppressed, so much so that since the Covid pandemic started in March 2020 I have been a shielding prisoner in my own home for over 2 years now only mainly going out for medical appointments. I did try a short 4 day break last year, but the limitations of not getting my wheelchair in and out of the car by myself meant I spent most of the break in my hotel instead of going out anywhere.

 

At the end of Dec 2021 my cancer had deteriorated to the point that once again I was on chemotherapy and as this will last until the end of 2022 this means that will be 3 years I will have been a shielding prisoner.

 

Having a boot hoist means I could do the simple things in life like going to the park for a bit of fresh air on my own or even going to the coast by myself, basically getting out and about once again because the shielding is starting to get depressing with the best part of at least another 10 months of it to look forward to.

 

I spent the last of my savings to get a new car which is an automatic as it was becoming a struggle to drive a manual car and I just can't afford to get a boot hoist, so any help you can give me would be fantastic, and it doesn't even have to be money if you want to arrange for the purchase and installation of a hoist directly that would be just as good.

Here I am holding my latest letter from the hospital showing the treatment I have had so far, there is also a picture of the letter with personal details edited out showing my diagnosis and treatment so far.

 

 

Thanking you in advance

 

Steve