Help get Az off-road again!

Hi there. My name is Az Cosgrove, and I’m 22 years old. In September, 2018,  at the age of 21, I found out that I had a brain tumour. It was, thankfully, ‘just’ a Grade 1, benign, tumour filling up the 4th ventricle of my brain, and increasing the pressure in my skull. Finally, I had an explanation for the crippling migraines that had seen me bedridden and unable to hold down food or water for days at a time over the past six months. The pressure in my skull was damaging the nerves to my eyes, which left me with double vision that landed me in the ER and still plagues me today. I was thankful that it was ‘just’ a benign tumour, but what should have been a relatively simple surgery, went terribly wrong. I suffered a haematoma (bleed) during surgery, and it has been quite a journey since. I almost died. Three weeks in the ICU, followed by three weeks in the neural ward, and months and months of in-patient rehab. I had to learn to breathe, talk, and eat all over again. I lost my ability to walk, and use a wheelchair. I have a scar from having a tube inserted into my throat to allow me to breathe. My voice has been permanently changed. I can no longer drive, and had to sell my car. To make matters worse, my house was robbed while I was recovering in hospital (we didn't have insurance). Needless to say, it has not been an easy joruney! I am immensely grateful for the socioeconomic privilege and the help from family + friends that has allowed me to come as far as I have. Every day is a struggle, but it’s slowly getting better. 

Being unable to work, my income is severely limited. I also came out as transgender about a year ago. Unfortunately, the week I was finally meant to start testosterone coincided with the week I ended up in hospital. The start of my medical transition was delayed, and I ended up starting T while staying in hospital, in December. I'm  very lucky to live in Australia and be able to access the NDIS, but unfortunately there are still a lot of new expenses that come out of my pocket. This includes the costs of my gender transition: top surgery, hormone therapy, and psychological therapy all have had a price tag. There is also some mobility equipment that the NDIS will not cover. One of these is a recumbent trike that will allow me to get 'off-road' again (where a wheelchair simply will not) and enjoy activities like camping and hiking that have always been important to me. Unfortunately, these trikes are MUCH more expensive than a normal mountain bike, but I have no choice but this option as I cannot balance on a normal, two-wheeled bike. I have been saving as much money as I can, but these trikes cost thousands of dollars and my savings will be wiped out. I desperately want to be able to access the outdoors again and any and all contributions will be very appreciated.

Thank you!