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Donations to help me get so independance plz❤️ ty

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Update...

Have had a letter from hyde my housing association and they cant do the adaptions and they dont have the funding to do it so have been referred to bromley council and have been told there is a 12mth wait to be assessed they are well behind and its harder to do coz of the shared pathway and the step is high so im going to need to to get something that i can leave down but remove if need be until then and will need the hand rail as i share a pathway and need it to b safe but that it can also be easy for us to remove to move if neighbour needs it moving. I have also found a cheaper wheelchair that im hoping to get to help me get independent for now. Im still sleeping on the sofa and will be until such time they can assess the walls of the house to fit a stairlift in 6/12mths time thank you for everything everyone has donated so far xxx



I am Lorraine, married to Lee and mother of two sons.



Unfortunately, I suffer from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which is a life changing condition that affects most organs of my body but particularly impacts on my pain levels and mobility. (https://patient.info/bones-joints-muscles/ehlers-danlos-syndrome-leaflet). In addition, I have been diagnosed with gastroparesis which is where food passes through the stomach slower than it should means that on my bad days I need to use a feeding tube to stop me from becoming malnourished.



It has been challenging but I have always tried to live an active life and managed a good level of independence so I don’t feel like such a burden on my family and to be good mother. However, I was told years ago that I should be in an electric wheelchair because of the pressure other wheelchairs put on joints, in particular shoulder joints, and electric ones are better for those of us with EDS.



Also, quite recently, I was diagnosed with synthetic nerve dystrophy which has meant that my mobility has relied on my left leg. In recent months I have experienced severe pain and swelling in my good leg and spent many weeks in hospital and now have Complex regional pain syndrome in my leg https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/complex-regional-pain-syndrome/symptoms/ I was given a nerve block by doctors but unfortunately it has not worked and now been advised that I will not walk again.



On its own, this diagnosis is devastating, but in more practical terms, my home is not set up for someone who is not mobile. There will be help available to adapt it but the waiting time is 12 months or more. Unfortunately, my home has two large steps to get into it and my husband, Lee, is now having to carry me in and out of the house and he can’t keep doing this. It's physically and practically not possible to continue for the long term. Because our house has stairs which I can’t get up to our bedroom and bathroom/toilet, I am having to sleep on the sofa in our front room, and I can no longer get up there.



I have lost all of my independence, and I am now trapped in my home on the ground floor. I am in desperate need of some temporary ramps to get in and out of my home and to fund an electric wheelchair. While these won’t solve all the problems, it will at least mean I can get around a bit more on the ground level and taken to medical appointments and get out of the house a bit more. Also, I have borrowed a manual wheelchair, but using it places lots of pressure on my shoulder joints because of my EDS condition is becoming a serious problem.



Normally, I would never have considered doing this, but because I’m in such a difficult circumstance some of my friends have suggested that I ask for help, because our family isn’t in a great financial position and the front door ramps and electric wheelchair will be thousands of pounds to purchase and install. Because of this and the enormous difference to mine and my family’s life I wanted to appeal for help and maybe I can have a better Christmas.



Any contribution you can make is appreciated more than you can ever know. Thank you.
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Donations 

  • John Christopher
    • £10
    • 10 mos
  • Anonymous
    • £20
    • 10 mos
  • Leigh Collins
    • £20
    • 10 mos
  • Anthony John wheeler
    • £20
    • 10 mos
  • Anonymous
    • £480
    • 11 mos
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Fundraising team (5)

Lorraine Swaffield
Organizer
Beverley Grech
Team member
lee Swaffield
Team member
Stewart Grech
Team member
Tracey Dudley
Team member

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