Emma Nelson

Oh my goodness! THANK YOU I am so very beyond thankful to each and everyone of you who has cheered me on, supported me, shared this and / or donated towards helping me to keep my dream alive and keep my beloved Merry Paws On T'moors business going as my legs fail me. The kindness of you all, friends, acquaintances and complete strangers is just so humbling and cements my faith in human nature. Thank you for helping me reach this amazing target. I am genuinely blown away by the wonder of you all. Each one of you has helped me to purchase a wheelchair (who I have named Val - short for Valkerie) that enables me to access most of the walks that I take great pride in taking my doggos on - they deserve the best adventures on their holidays with me. You have helped me to design and employ an amazing fabricator in Wakefield to make me a mode of transporting with winches, so I get Val onto the back of my van AND continue to keep the dogs safe in their crates. This hasn't been easy as all the methods available to buy outright either don't fit Val or depend on her being lifted inside the van. This should be ready around the end of October/ November and not a moment too soon. At the moment, I am depending on Peter or friends to come with me to help me get Val in the back of my van or sometimes the kindness of passing strangers - not ideal for the dogs and not independence for me and not a sustainable way of doing things. I now have neck and shoulder injuries from the times I try to drag her into the van on my own You have helped insure Val, and I will save some of the funds for her yearly service and insurance renewal (it's like having a car haha). My legs failed faster than expected which meant I couldn't get upstairs to our only bathroom and to see to doggos in their designated rooms up there (by law each doggo staying needs their own room should they want some peace or to sleep alone), so you helped me purchase a stairlift which we part bought using some of the funds you so kindly raised and some of our pension fund. The rest of the funds and my savings will go towards making exiting and entering my house accessible for me as this is fast becoming an issue. I need the porch and doors widening, ramps and a path from the doors round to the van (gravel is a normal wheelchair's nemesis - Val cannot go in the house - she's too big, so I use a normal active chair). This will enable me to leave the house with Team Merry Paws safely. At the moment, it is a wobbly, slow and painful process and I am often helped by my son, my mum and Peter or friends. I would like to be independent in this. I am also aiming to be able to get into my back garden with my every day wheelchair (again, Val is too big to get through the house). I need ramps and path ways so I can safely do the poo picks and play with the doggos like I used to. Now, a lot of you know my mum, Granny Pat to the dogs, was basically my carer. Unfortunately, she is very ill and has been in LGI for the last 6 / 7 weeks, and it looks like I need to reverse roles. I cannot do this safely for her until we make my house completely accessible for me and now her. At the moment, I cannot get a shower. It is over the bath. I have been washing on a stool at my sink for months. It is a slow and cold process. Now, my mum is going to have to do the same, but there isn't room for the stool and my wheelchair in there, so we are now looking to save enough to convert the bathroom, so we have a walk in shower so I can shower independently, help mum shower and of course, keep those bog monster doggies clean safely and independently. Again, thank you so, so much