JUDY'S CHAIR

Leslie Wales Hecht is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Thomas Lynn Bradham.

My name is Judy Bradham and I am 41 years old. When I was born I was not breathing. It took the Doctors five minutes to get me breathing which caused me to have Cerebal Palsy. Cerebal Palsy is a lack of oxygen to the brain. It effects my muscles and my speech.
I have overcome many obstacles in my life because of my parents. They raised me to be as independent as possible. I got treated like any other child. I had my own chores. I even got my butt whipped when I needed it.
I went to regular schools. I was an A-B student. I went to dances and was involved in after school activities. I graduated in 1994. I went on to college at Guilford Tech.
I have two kids, Tommy who is 18 and Kiarra who is 12. They are the light of my life. I wasn't supposed to have kids but I have two. I call them my miracle children.
I lived with my boyfriend. I eventually got married and then got divorced. After that I lived on my own with Tommy. I had some help but basically did everything on my own.
I met my second boyfriend on line. We had Kiarra 3 years later. We broke up then I moved on my own with Kiarra. I had a CNA come in 3 hours a day to cook meals and give me a bath. I did almost everything else on my own. I washed dishes and warmed up meals. Kiarra and I would go out into the community. We would do our own grocery shopping.
In 2012 my Cerebral Palsy got worse. My neighbor found me on the floor. I could not get up. that was the scariest moment of my life. I went to Greenhaven, a nursing home. I called it "Green-Hell". The CNA's and the staff did not care. In March of 2014 I moved to Heartland Living and Rehab. It's a better place to live. The CNA's and staff really care.
But over time my Cerebral Palsy has gotten worse. I cannot hold my head or my body up. I wear a vest and a headband attached to my wheelchair to keep me upright.
Now my wheelchair doesn't fit my body anymore. It's very uncomfortable. I need a new wheelchair and Medicaid will not pay for it. The repairs on the wheelchair will be approximately $8000.00. This only includes a new back cushion $(3560), and new seat cushion $(4100), and the labor. A new chair would cost approximately $30,000.00.
Because I live in a nursing home Medicaid will not cover any wheelchair costs. If I lived on my own Medicaid would pay for a new chair every five years which they have done in the past.
Any help you can offer in helping me either upfit my chair or purchase a new one is greatly appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.