Victoria's Mobility Scooter Fundraiseroo

Hi, my name is Victoria and I'm hoping to fundraise to buy a mobility power chair so that I can have more freedom and live a fuller life with my family.

The last few years have thrown a few curveballs to say the least.

In 2024, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and after a sudden and rapid decline in my physical mobility, in February 2025 I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Reynaud's Syndrome.

Last year, after a 18 month fight with DWP, I was finally awarded PIP last September, only for them to reduce it (including removing my entire mobility component) after informing them of my additional diagnoses in June 2025. I am now facing another potentially year long battle with DWP to appeal this decision in order to be able to get the support that the Crown Court awarded me last year.

My life plan at 40 was not to be on PIP and be a wheelchair user. I did not plan to be given multiple chronic diagnoses which are now severely impacting my life and my mobility to the extent that my (very lovely) husband had to give up work last year to become a full-time carer for me and our disabled daughter.

For those who don't know much about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, it is a genetic disorder which impacts the connective tissues throughout the entire body. EDS is caused by mutations in genes that affect collagen and other connective tissues, leading to a multitude of problems.

For me, EDS has caused lifelong issues with my bowels (I'll spare you the details), hypermobility, joints that are easily sublaxed and dislocated, hiatus hernias, chronic migraines, widespread muscular and joint pain, chronic fatigue, dysautonomia, an irregular heartbeat and heart palpitations, dizziness and vertigo... to name a few.

This is the difficult part for me to talk about. My husband left full-time employment last year to become a full-time carer for me and our daughter, and I am only able to work a reduced number of hours due to the impact on my mental and physical health. Our PIP award last year was meant to be a life-line for us, which has now been suddenly and unexpectedly removed without any notice whatsoever. This change has hit us hard. Harder than we'd like to admit, and now it has become apparent that without support, we would not be able to finance a mobility power chair which I now so desperately need.

Being disabled does not come cheap. Here's the breakdown of the costs for the mobility power chair I need.

£2,499 - ProLite Evisu Carbon Fibre Powerchair

£199 - One Year Service Plan

£119 - One Year Extended Warranty

£59 - Padded Seat Cushion

£15 - Waterproof Joystick Cover

£2,891 - TOTAL

The Powerchair is incredible and I felt genuinely incredible using it. It gives me the freedom to move around without the impact on my muscles and joints, reducing the risk of subluxation and dislocation and helping me manage my mental and physical fatigue throughout the day.

This particular chair is also made of carbon fibre, so it only weighs 17kg and goes for about 16 miles per battery charge.

Anyone who knows me well will know that asking for help does not come easy for me. But I am here asking because I genuinely do not know how I can manage my decline in mobility without this - especially whilst supporting our very lovely but very neurospicy daughter. I cannot do this without your help. So please, anything you feel able to donate towards this would genuinely be life-changing for me.

Thank you from the whole Sumner family.