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Help with Modified vehicle

My name is Mark, I am hoping to get a vehicle and modification to help me reach my goals. I’m a 26 year old man with Limb Girdle Muscualr Dystrophy, I was diagnosed when I was 12 years old. Muscular dystrophy is a disease that affects ALL muscles over a perioid of time thankfully or not so thankfully my brain remains unaffected.  On top of this disease is the fact that a simple cold or flu has the potential to kill me. Flu shot anyone? On a serious note......As a sports loving child  the mental anguish of my diagnosis was as bad as my physical pain, when basically overnight I had to stop playing with friends, playing footy, and swimming in the ocean - I couldn't even walk on sand anymore. My first major heaIth obstacle occured when I turned 13. I caught a rare type of pneumonia and was hospitalised with doctors unsure of whether I would make it. I was determined to see my sister married so I obtained special release from hospital and stood beside my sister with a portable drip for as long as I could in church until I became too unwell and had to return to hospital.  From that point on I needed a machine called a BiPap to sleep and hence since I had been bed bound for so long my breathing deteriorated as did my ability to walk. At this stage I could walk very slow for approximately 100metres  but would be left in agony for days afterwards. However,I was in denial and didn’t want to have a disability nor did I want to start using the  wheelchair that I was supposed to be in. Over the next 5 years of falling over and bumps and bruises I could no longer lift my arms above my head or stand up without assistance. I then ruptured my Achilles’ tendon when I was 19 and could no longer walk without holding onto someone. At the age of 21 I broke my tibia and fibula and was hospitalised and spent from May till November 2013 in a cast and required multiple operations with serious risks due to my lung issues. The steps that I had taken before I broke my leg were the last steps that I ever took. My muscular dystrophy had caused substantial deterioration once again. I was now wheelchair bound, and my arms had weakened  to the point where I couldn't reach to scratch an itch on my face. This is when my mental illness came into effect. I spent the next week calling and emailing every fundraiser in the state and even some big companies I even called fundraisers from other states! Only to be told the majority of them only help people under 17 years old, they already have specific organisations they help or that they simply do not fund vehicles. As a result I have lost many friends, can't connect with family and have become distant with everyone besides my sisters and mothe. I cannot maintain or develop relationships, access medical help or participate in daily activities due to no access. Do I ever want to go for coffee with a friend? Sorry it has to be organised with notice, fina a place that is wheelchair accessible - and ummmm my coffee mate needs to be prepared to help me lift the cup lol! What about family a dinner? Needs notice and planning due to taxi wait times. What about a career? Well not plausible as what if I need to go bathroom?? Or what about a family outing? Even a 20 minute taxi ride takes a fare share out of my fortnightly pension. It is the stress of not being able to do simple things like shopping going out with mates on a dime or even simply just going to see family. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my story!!!

Organizer

Mark Mcpherson
Organizer

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