- C
Hello,
My name is Alana, I am setting this up on behalf of my best friends; Tyler Sinnwell and his wife, Ashley-Marie Sinnwell. These very special friends of mine are two of the most selfless and caring people I know. And seeing as they have been their for me throughout our 10+ years of friendship, it is only right that I try my best to repay them as much as I can for everything they have done for me.
Before I get into asking all of you kind souls to donate, I feel it best to give you a background and explain why it is I am here asking for $60,000. And to do that, I have to first tell you about these two beautiful souls.
Tyler was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP) at birth. If you do not know what Cerebral Palsy is, it is a group of disorders that affect a person's ability to walk and maintain balance and posture. There are varying degrees of CP in which one person with CP can be fully mobile and only find themselves stumbling every now and then, and another to little to no mobility and require a wheelchair. Tyler is one of the latter, he has been primarily in a wheelchair since the age of 3. However, this does not stop him from doing his best to achieve as independent of a life as any 33-year-old in a wheelchair can. He currently holds 2 part-time jobs: 1) As a Tutor/Tutor Assistant at RCBC of Mount Laurel, NJ and 2) As a tutor for a program called The Legacy Learning Academy through The Legacy Treatment Centers of New Jersey. Before the pandemic, he would find himself waking up at 8am to head to his 9am shift at and clocking out at 2pm to head to his 3 o'clock shift for The Legacy Learning Academy, which is held at our local library. He wouldn't get home until after 8pm. These days, he is holed up in his office in their home for 14+ hours working both jobs 5 days a week.
Ashley-Marie, was also diagnosed with CP. She falls on the more mobile side of the CP fence. She (as well as her husband) has had numerous surgeries throughout her 32 years of living, to which has granted her the ability of being able to walk with the use of crutches or a walker. She is also diagnosed with CRPS(Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) which is a diagnosis that encompasses a broad spectrum or excess and prolonged pain. This is triggered by trauma caused to the body (even something simple as stubbing your toe), generally the arms or legs but it can a be triggered throughout other parts of one's body as well. Mitochondrial Autoimmune Disease, which a fancy diagnosis describing a group of inherited genetic diseases that occurs when the mitochondria fails to produce enough energy to the body. This also causes the body to attack itself when one or more of our "parts" are otherwise impaired. The body will then shutdown said impaired limb or organ as it feels it is causing harm to the body, also known as "attacking". However, the past couple years have seen her thrown back into her wheelchair that she has been out of for 15 years. At the end of 2019, she had a surgery to replace her pain pump. Her body took the trauma caused by the surgery as an attack and "shutdown" the use of her ability to safely walk around, even in her own home. Pre-pandemic she was in weekly physical therapy treatments and occupational therapy treatments to improve the use of her legs, as well as work on her pain level that had gone from a 7 to a 10 in the span of 3 1/2 years. Now, she has not been able to continue her therapy treatments as her diagnosis deem it unsafe for her to have prolonged exposure to others that live outside of her home. She has also been told that she can no longer work to help support her family as her medical diagnosis make it unsafe for her to do so. Since her declined, I have moved myself into their home. And even though I am Tyler's person care assistant and with them almost daily and Ashley still manages to take care of her and her husband from her wheelchair, there are a few hours throughout the day and night that I am not there in which anything can happen.
As anyone with medical disabilities understands, this comes with many bills. They both have disability through the state, as well as subsidiary insurances to lessen the strain their medical bills can potentially cause. With this, they live under strained budgetary circumstances as the state will only allow them to work a certain amount of hours so they do not go over their allotment. This also makes it difficult for them to save for things as the state does not allow those who are on disability insurance to hold separate savings accounts.
Now to why I am here; they now find themselves in need of a new and slightly used, handicap accessible van. The cost of such a vehicle can be quite staggering as they need their van to be accessible to BOTH of their needs. Even though Ashley is in a wheelchair at the moment, she is still able to drive. Which is great for their little family as it gives them more independence and allows her to drive her and Tyler to and from their appointments and to the store when needed. She requires special handicap attachments that allow her to drive with her hands, and not her feet, and give her the ability to steer, brake and accelerate when needed. It also needs to have an access ramp so that Tyler is able to get into the van and so that Ashley is able to get her wheelchair in the van as well. Each attachment adds to the total, and some disabled individuals find their total close to $100,00. Seeing as their current van is over 16+ years old, they find themselves in an immediate need of van that would be able to suit both of their needs.
If you could find it in your hearts to donate, just know it is going to an honest and immediate cause. Any bit helps and even $1 will help allow them to reach their goal. They have been struggling with their current van for years and after being turned down from numerous other programs, this is a last resort. They have no idea I am doing this for them and it would be such an amazing gift to be able to tell these two beautiful people that they will soon have their new, safe and accessible van. Or as Tyler likes to call it his legs. And if any two people are deserving of a gift, it is Tyler and Ashley-Marie
My name is Alana, I am setting this up on behalf of my best friends; Tyler Sinnwell and his wife, Ashley-Marie Sinnwell. These very special friends of mine are two of the most selfless and caring people I know. And seeing as they have been their for me throughout our 10+ years of friendship, it is only right that I try my best to repay them as much as I can for everything they have done for me.
Before I get into asking all of you kind souls to donate, I feel it best to give you a background and explain why it is I am here asking for $60,000. And to do that, I have to first tell you about these two beautiful souls.
Tyler was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP) at birth. If you do not know what Cerebral Palsy is, it is a group of disorders that affect a person's ability to walk and maintain balance and posture. There are varying degrees of CP in which one person with CP can be fully mobile and only find themselves stumbling every now and then, and another to little to no mobility and require a wheelchair. Tyler is one of the latter, he has been primarily in a wheelchair since the age of 3. However, this does not stop him from doing his best to achieve as independent of a life as any 33-year-old in a wheelchair can. He currently holds 2 part-time jobs: 1) As a Tutor/Tutor Assistant at RCBC of Mount Laurel, NJ and 2) As a tutor for a program called The Legacy Learning Academy through The Legacy Treatment Centers of New Jersey. Before the pandemic, he would find himself waking up at 8am to head to his 9am shift at and clocking out at 2pm to head to his 3 o'clock shift for The Legacy Learning Academy, which is held at our local library. He wouldn't get home until after 8pm. These days, he is holed up in his office in their home for 14+ hours working both jobs 5 days a week.
Ashley-Marie, was also diagnosed with CP. She falls on the more mobile side of the CP fence. She (as well as her husband) has had numerous surgeries throughout her 32 years of living, to which has granted her the ability of being able to walk with the use of crutches or a walker. She is also diagnosed with CRPS(Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) which is a diagnosis that encompasses a broad spectrum or excess and prolonged pain. This is triggered by trauma caused to the body (even something simple as stubbing your toe), generally the arms or legs but it can a be triggered throughout other parts of one's body as well. Mitochondrial Autoimmune Disease, which a fancy diagnosis describing a group of inherited genetic diseases that occurs when the mitochondria fails to produce enough energy to the body. This also causes the body to attack itself when one or more of our "parts" are otherwise impaired. The body will then shutdown said impaired limb or organ as it feels it is causing harm to the body, also known as "attacking". However, the past couple years have seen her thrown back into her wheelchair that she has been out of for 15 years. At the end of 2019, she had a surgery to replace her pain pump. Her body took the trauma caused by the surgery as an attack and "shutdown" the use of her ability to safely walk around, even in her own home. Pre-pandemic she was in weekly physical therapy treatments and occupational therapy treatments to improve the use of her legs, as well as work on her pain level that had gone from a 7 to a 10 in the span of 3 1/2 years. Now, she has not been able to continue her therapy treatments as her diagnosis deem it unsafe for her to have prolonged exposure to others that live outside of her home. She has also been told that she can no longer work to help support her family as her medical diagnosis make it unsafe for her to do so. Since her declined, I have moved myself into their home. And even though I am Tyler's person care assistant and with them almost daily and Ashley still manages to take care of her and her husband from her wheelchair, there are a few hours throughout the day and night that I am not there in which anything can happen.
As anyone with medical disabilities understands, this comes with many bills. They both have disability through the state, as well as subsidiary insurances to lessen the strain their medical bills can potentially cause. With this, they live under strained budgetary circumstances as the state will only allow them to work a certain amount of hours so they do not go over their allotment. This also makes it difficult for them to save for things as the state does not allow those who are on disability insurance to hold separate savings accounts.
Now to why I am here; they now find themselves in need of a new and slightly used, handicap accessible van. The cost of such a vehicle can be quite staggering as they need their van to be accessible to BOTH of their needs. Even though Ashley is in a wheelchair at the moment, she is still able to drive. Which is great for their little family as it gives them more independence and allows her to drive her and Tyler to and from their appointments and to the store when needed. She requires special handicap attachments that allow her to drive with her hands, and not her feet, and give her the ability to steer, brake and accelerate when needed. It also needs to have an access ramp so that Tyler is able to get into the van and so that Ashley is able to get her wheelchair in the van as well. Each attachment adds to the total, and some disabled individuals find their total close to $100,00. Seeing as their current van is over 16+ years old, they find themselves in an immediate need of van that would be able to suit both of their needs.
If you could find it in your hearts to donate, just know it is going to an honest and immediate cause. Any bit helps and even $1 will help allow them to reach their goal. They have been struggling with their current van for years and after being turned down from numerous other programs, this is a last resort. They have no idea I am doing this for them and it would be such an amazing gift to be able to tell these two beautiful people that they will soon have their new, safe and accessible van. Or as Tyler likes to call it his legs. And if any two people are deserving of a gift, it is Tyler and Ashley-Marie
Organizer and beneficiary
Kathleen McNellis
Beneficiary