Wheels For Kim 2.0

Thank you in advance for taking a moment to get to know my cousin, Kim Snider, an advocate, college graduate, and a young woman that has overcome more adversity in her 46 years of life than most of us can bear to think about yet alone live through on a daily basis. Kim was born with Cerebral Palsy rendering her physically as a spastic quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair. Take a second to try to imagine your life with no option but to be dependent on others for your every want or need. From getting out of bed in the morning, dressing yourself, driving, being limited to places your could go because they weren’t wheelchair accessible, things we all take for granted without a second thought, are more than a challenge for Kim. But despite all of her daily obstacles Kim has only the following response, “I can” and “I will” and overcome she does. One great example I remember is from when we were kids. Kim had a paper route, not a glorious nor high paying job but it was hers. Not once can I remember her being driven around to her customers or having others do her job for her, she’d wheel around from door to door, no matter how long it took her making sure her customers were satisfied. Even those pesky curbs couldn’t stand in her way, though they tried a few times. When Kim started high school, she wasn’t able to watch a basketball game with her friends because they had no way to get her chair in the stands. Well, our Kim marched straight to the principal’s office and informed them that this wouldn’t be acceptable. By the time she graduated, there wasn’t a place or event she couldn’t attend. Even today as I look back on all she has faced and prevailed I am in awe.

Her good friend Don K adds the following: “Sometimes you find a person whom you just want to help, but instead that person you have found, ends up helping you. This is Kim. What I have found is that I get more from her than I give to her. Even though she has a mobility issue, she is completely independent and a fighter. She went to school and challenged the system to work for her. And work she did, successfully graduation from high school. She then joined the work force doing several different jobs, at the same time she went on to pursue furthering her education to become a special needs paraprofessional substitute in Livonia. Nine years ago, she got her mechanical legs in the appearance of a motorized wheelchair to achieve a more independent lifestyle. Unfortunately, like all things do, her wheelchair has become old, worn and broken. Her controls need to be replaced as some functions no longer respond correctly. Replacing old parts with new is not an option. These lost functions are required for her to perform properly in today’s workplace. A new vehicle for Kim is required and we are asking for your help to get her replacement.”

This brings us to today. An unfortunate part of Kim’s disability is that it causes her muscle to atrophy leaving her in a horribly painful state. When younger, therapy did help but other physical and life stressors have removed this option. She currently has a power chair that will allow her to stand, at the same time helping to stretch and loosen her muscles. Unfortunately, her chair has reached its end of life being 6 years past its three year life span. Parts are few and far between making repair unattainable. The cost of a new chair is horrifying to say the least especially for the one thing that helps Kim maintain any sense of normalcy. In the past medical insurance did offer assistance but times have changed along with insurance companies and coverage, they consider standing a “luxury”. This isn’t something fancy and new like a phone or tablet that many of us replace just because. This is a quality of life affecting need. I can also say that this is probably the biggest challenge Kim has had to face because she is needing the help of others at a capacity that is beyond overwhelming. We hope that even if you are not able to donate, you will all pass along Kim’s story and remember that sometimes it takes a village to overcome the seemingly impossible.