Our daughter Heather Downing started having  a variety of medical issues a year and a half ago. The symptoms started with terrible headaches, then cardiac issues. Next issues  landed her in the hospital in December of 2018 with doctors thinking she was having a stroke. She lost the ability of use on her left side for a short time, then she began to gain her strength back. Shortly after, she again was in the hospital.  In the last 13 months she has had  four hospitalizations, and two additional ER visits. She has had testing to determine what was happening to her. By  September of  2019 she had lost all function of her legs, constant fatigue, deficits in her arms and hands. Still no diagnosis. 

After conducting a multitude of tests, the doctors had ruled out MS, ALS, Guillain- Barre syndrome  and a variety of other neurological diseases.  This past week she was finally given a diagnosis and it turns out she has SLE (systemic lupus). This disease is an autoimmune disease, not a neurological disease, however this illness attacks healthy organs.  Her immune system mistakenly attacks healthy organs and tissues. Her brain, spinal cord and her kidneys have been affected. During this year and a half process of finding a diagnosis, this disease had been eating away at her organs with no treatment to stop whatever damage was being caused by her own body attacking itself.   During this time, many doctors insinuated these symptoms were in her head, too much stress...one even told her that many women are so stressed  this is what happens to them...they think they are sick when they aren't.  Keep in mind,,,she could not walk.  Thankfully she has been diagnosed we can move forward with treatment.

Heather has always been a very active person, This disease has completely halted her life.  She had to give up her dog rescue, going  pretty much anywhere except to the doctors. She is not able to drive,  go to the bus stop to  see her children off and back to school and home, go for a walk, walk her dogs, and has lost most of her independence.  She absolutely refuses to let any of use take her for a walk and push the wheelchair as she wants to be able to do for herself. She has remained mostly  positive but some days this is too overwhelming.  She is so fatigued the majority of the time, that her children spend  most their time with her, in her bed watching movies.

She is in a wheelchair most of the time, but has been able to use  a walker with a seat within her home after months of in-home physical therapy.  She has begun some treatment with the hope that some of the  decline with all the organ systems that have been affected will not get worse.  If we are able to raise enough money for her to own the  Alinker Bike, her world would change. As you can see in the video is is designed for better mobility and would also help strengthen the muscles in her legs. She would be able to walk her dogs,  go to the mailbox, visit her friends in the neighborhood,  be  able to be part of a shopping trip and so on.

She and Chet have incurred so many medical bills throughout this process of diagnosis, that purchasing this bike is not possible. With the help of family and friends, it is our hope as her parents that Heather can have as much independence given back to her as possible.

Alinker does have a crowd funding  process but we have been told that there are over 700 people waiting for the opportunity for funding through that process.  Heather cant wait that long. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you  so much!