Hello folks. My name is Robert (Rob) Bracewell and I find myself in the awkward position to have to be reaching out in the desperate hope that this post and plea will help me to continue being a grandad, father, and active participant in the 'world' at large. I am a multi-disabled ex-serviceman, currently a full-time manual wheelchair user following a spinal injury. Regrettably, I now need to start using a specialised powered wheelchair and I really need your help!

I am recovering from several chronic illnesses including a stroke as well as being partially paralysed.

The bottom line is that I need to raise funding to permit the purchase of a wheelchair which will frankly liberate me. I am already a wheelchair user utilising a manual wheelchair around the home and local area, and I lease a Motability electric wheelchair for longer journeys.

I have two problems, firstly the use of my manual wheelchair is becoming increasingly difficult due to my stroke, added to that I have heart and end-stage kidney disease for which I receive dialysis. The chair is also some 15 years old and I am running out of string and sealing wax to keep it going, it is in desperate need of replacement.

Secondly, although I have a leased electric wheelchair it is enormous, but is far too big and heavy to transport in a car. That is its chief limitation, but it can’t cross grass, go to outdoor events, onto the beach, etc. as it would sink. Waving at my grandsons from the shoreline is not where I or indeed them, want to be.

I’m an ex-soldier and outdoorsman, working in forests and natural areas, at the moment I am stuck in the house or dependent on my family to drive me to family events, and then I have limited participation. I want to be involved, be able to go to woodland, nature areas, festivals, car-boot sales! The current chair cannot be broken down and carried in a car, it is too heavy to go on outdoor adventures, and too fragile to do so. I did, however, come across the 'Trekinetic' Wheelchair; a unique, flexible, folding wheelchair with the ability to go off-road, handle rough tracks, curbs, snow, and the beach!

So, what does this chair mean for me? It means, bluntly, life. With it I gain access to almost anywhere, the beach, woodland walks, festivals, and as near to the life I had before my stroke with no feeling of encumbrance to others. This will then ensure that I can continue with an active lifestyle, and, in the company of family and friends - and, more importantly with my two grandsons, my current driving force, with the chair able to be stored in a standard car bootspace, I need to keep as active with them as possible in the time I have left to leave positive memories for them as the grandad who'd go anywhere!

The Trekinetic for me is not 'just a posh wheelchair', it is the ticket to a life I once had and certainly a more active one as my conditions take their toll. The chair can be found here " https://trekinetic.com/power/" along with videos and technical details. As can be seen its innovative and clever design allows it to be dismantled with ease, packed into the boot of a car, and offers me something I do not have at the moment, flexible travel with enhanced, fatigue-free movement upon arrival. The capacity of being able to join in anything, be it a festival, beach trip, country show, or even a visit to an old town with constraints on curbs, footpaths and the like, would be the start of a new life for me, my family and friends. For someone born and brought up is a seaside town - I have not been on a beach since 1992, so the selling point for me was its ability to go on the beach without constraint.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Rob