Medical Needs for Amy Wenzel, Atypical Parkinsons

Hi, my name is Amy Wenzel and up until July of 2019 I was an active mother and grandmother. I enjoyed spending at least 5 days a week at Erie's local gyms. In summer of 2019 I began experiencing slowed speech, movement and overall basic functions seemed more difficult than they ever had.

After many visits to different doctors, and the rapid progression of my symptoms, I was finally diagnosed with Early Onset Atypical Parkinsons. This diagnosis has been extremely difficult on my friends, my family and mostly myself. As a woman who has always valued her own independence, this lifestyle change has been a journey of new discovery and appreciation for the things I do have.

Due to the uniqueness of my diagnosis, I have been through multiple clinical trials for new medications, different cocktails of existing medications (some of which proved completely ineffective), and functional therapies to keep me "myself" as long as possible. Now that I am in Stage 4 of Parkinsons, we are now in the next phase of my care which requires a full time in-home caregiver.

As you can imagine, this has been financially stressful on myself and my family. As I look into the next few years, I want to ensure I can continue caring for myself and keep my eyes on the future I have with my kids; Joshua, Rebekah, Zachary and my grandchildren; Calvin and Avery.

If you can make any donation, it would be personally, greatly appreciated and would assist in medical expenses, in-home health care, and accessibility equipment as I am no longer able to walk on my own.

Thank You, Amy