Help A Disabled Person Get a Desperately Needed Wheelchair

About Me

I'm Ellis, a 27 year old, living a life focused on community care and following what gives me joy, whilst also navigating multiple lifelong chronic illnesses which have seriously impacted my life for over a decade now. I suffer from numerous debilitating symptoms, particularly chronic pain, fatigue, migraines, dislocations, and a multitude of other challenges.

Why I Need a Wheelchair

I have been a wheelchair user for over a decade now, and have not properly replaced my chair once during that time, despite the recommendation for the average life span of a wheelchair being less than half of that. As a result, I am currently suffering increasingly severe and compounding negative effects from having to use a chair that is broken and doesn't fit me. Anything you can donate would mean the world, no donation is "too small" as it all adds up: helping me get one step closer to my goal and getting a new chair! In turn, I will be able to lead a more fulfilling and joyful life, one with less pain and exciting new possibilities for what I can do!

---

I am forced to admit I have been putting this off for far too long and now things are starting to feel urgent due to the pain my current broken chair is causing me and all the things I can't do because of it, as well as a constant and ever-growing fear of it breaking down on me entirely. My chair is already broken in so many ways, with more parts breaking all the time. I constantly fear it breaking to the extent it becomes entirely unusable, which would leave me bedbound, as I am a full-time wheelchair user... This is especially daunting when considering how a new wheelchair takes a minimum of 6 weeks from ordering to arrival. I have already spent so much time unable to live how I've wanted due to illness, and I would hate to face any more major setbacks.

So this feeling of ever-increasing insecurity in my ability to simply be able to move around, alongside the growing negative impacts an unsuitable chair is having on my wellbeing, has forced me to finally take action. Despite constantly preaching to my community about the importance of asking for help and how you won’t be able to help your community if you don’t take care of yourself too, I have been ignoring how this applies to me. I have now been saying I need to get a new wheelchair for 3 years, but I have failed to actually prioritise doing so as something has always felt more important. I have feared the vulnerability that comes with asking for help, and the worry that no-one will care about my fundraiser, with other causes always being more important or urgent. But instead I realise I must trust and hope that with the help of my loved ones and many-webbed community, I will be able to reach my target, access the chair I so badly need, and with it harness a deeply exciting boost to my quality of life of the possibilities it will bring.

At present, the impacts of not having a suitable chair have gone from minor to severe: causing serious elevation of my pain, irreversible acceleration of elements of my genetic disorder - Ehlers Danlos (such as arthritis) - and even negatively impacting my self-image and sense of self. To non-wheelchair users, I can understand if this sounds somewhat melodramatic, but my wheelchair effects every part of how I engage with the world: from how well supported my body is to the specifics of how I move to the places I can go, and how easily I can go there.. Having a chair both feels good and makes me feel good in myself is impossible to truly explain, but it makes a world of difference to how I feel.

For almost 18 months, I have been using a chair that is not mine, does not fit me, and is broken in ways that have serious effects on my body, and I can't deny how worn down it has left me feeling. Because the chair doesn’t fit me, it doesn’t move fluidly with me, and it very much doesn’t feel like my chair. The oneness I felt with my old chair makes me ache with grief when I think about it. When you have been a wheelchair user for a decade, the difference between a chair you chose - one that was custom-built to fit you & your specifications - versus a random chair that you were forced to buy out of desperation, is so staggering it isn’t even possible to describe.

I’ve finally accepted there’s no way I’m pulling this together alone: I am unable to work and my benefits payments leave little to spare, and certainly not the £2.5k minimum needed for the kind of chair I require. And I can’t afford to keep waiting when I can feel it degrading my body and limiting my enjoyment of life more and more every day, as well as feeling increasingly precarious, even as an interim solution.

Why Can't You Get It On the NHS?

I have attempted to access a chair via the NHS but they will only offer me a completely unsuitable chair - one that would only further exacerbate my pain and dislocations, as well as being far more limited when it comes to the kinds of vehicle it can be transported via, an essential for expanding the possibilities of places I can go and people I can go with.

This means I need your help to fund the purchase of a new wheelchair that will actually meet my needs. Unfortunately, due to the high quality materials and competitive design quality, the kinds of chairs that would meet my requirements cost around a minimum of £2500, and the more I can afford to spend now, the longer the new chair is likely to last me, as well as offering the greatest benefits to my health and quality of life in general.

While you may see chairs available for much cheaper than this, this cost is because I need a chair that has been custom-designed to meet my needs, such as fitting my exact measurements, being extremely lightweight, with strong back support, and allowing for in-depth customisation. Features such as these are essential in order for the chair to be as easy to propel as possible, cause as little pain to use as possible, and provide the safety my current chair lacks.

Please Donate & Share! ♡

I recognise the urgency is in part my fault for leaving it too long, but I can't deny that I need to fund this chair as soon as possible, as my current chair seems to be falling apart at a scary rate, and it is a lengthy process to order a replacement. So if you can, please share this fundraiser far and wide! Even if you can't donate, sharing is a great way to help me out.

I would be so very grateful for any and all donations of any size: absolutely every little bit of help means more than I can express. And whether you can donate or not, simply sharing the link to this fundraiser wherever you can is a really simple and cost-free way to help me out. Whatever you can contribute, I really can't express my gratitude enough, as finally being able to get a new wheelchair will be truly life-transforming.

Thank you in advance <3

---

Help Me Fundraise?

Additionally, I am hoping to fundraise in other ways as well. One idea I have is an online auction - so if you have anything you could donate to that (all kinds of items welcome, including handmade, so long as they're new), please get in touch using the information below.

If you have suggestions for other fundraisers or would be willing to host anything yourself to help raise funds, again, please do get in touch!

Come to the First IRL Fundraiser!

*** There will be a fundraiser in Brighton this weekend, Saturday 5th July 1-5pm! It is a casual, community-based event where you can come along and learn more about herbalism, an exploration of both plants and medicine, and a chance to try some teas and get your hands on some exciting goodies! Attendance is entirely donation-based, pay-what-you-can, and you can also buy a ticket to pass along if you can't attend but would like to show your support. Find out more here! ***

Please don't hesitate to get in touch should you have any questions, suggestions, offers of any form of help, or any other kind of query!

Conact Info:

Ellis https://www.instagram.com/yes.ellis/ or email ellischriswalker(@)gmail.com (remove the brackets!)

Gravy (IRL Fundraiser Host) https://www.instagram.com/smooshyberry