I am a 33 year old man who is desperately in need of a replacement wheelchair.
My current wheelchair is 9 years old, it is severely worn out due to constant use.
I have been wheelchair bound since the age of 16, due to Becker Muscular Dystrophy. This is a progressive muscle wasting disability that I was diagnosed with when I was just 11 years old. I began to find it increasingly difficult to walk and became reliant on using a wheelchair to get around. Unfortunately with this progression, I have slowly been losing muscle tone in my upper body whereby I am no longer able to lift my hands higher than my chest.
In the last 12 months, I have noticed the muscles in my hands can no longer sufficiently grip the push rims of my manual chair. Moving off from a stationary position & controlling my manual wheelchair is proving difficult, negotiating slopes has become virtually impossible. I find the mild incline of a drop curb particularly challenging, which can be extremely frustrating at times.
Although I have tried to avoid the inevitable, I have come to the realization that I am now in need of a joystick controlled wheelchair for everyday use.
The manual and electric combination wheelchair that I wish to purchase is an alternative to a conventional powerchair. The Benoit Systemes, Light Drive 2 is a motorized unit with a joystick that can be mounted to a manual wheelchair.
To have this chair would mean the world to me. I could go anywhere I wanted to without hesitation. It would allow me to continue to drive my adapted car from my wheelchair.
In late spring of 2017 myself and my wife became parents for the first time to a baby girl. I am now a responsible father. In the not so distant future I’ll need to keep up with her as she becomes more mobile. I wish to be able to walk her into preschool & take trips to the park like any other parent would do.
Understandably it has not been easy to publically write about my life. Thank you for taking the time to read my page.