Hi, I'm Deanna. I'm 35 and live in Crossgates with my wonderful husband, Stephen.
When I was 32 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Sadly all of the surgery, chemo and radiotherapy didn't prevent it from spreading into my bones and my liver.
The treatment I'm currently on can slow down the cancer but it is now incurable and, one day, hopefully a long time from now, I will die from my illness.
The main side effects from my disease (so far) is that my hips, legs and spine have been very badly damaged and I have serious limitations with mobility. As our bedroom and bathroom are upstairs in our house, I often have to spend a lot of time 'trapped' and unable to come downstairs into the rest of our home.
We are now trying to raise money to build an en suite and move our bedroom downstairs which will hugely improve my quality of life and mean I can do simple things, like showering or getting to the kitchen, unaided.
We were referred to a social worker and to a occupational therapist to find out if we could get some financial assistance for the build. However, they would need to follow a very rigid set of plans which wouldn't allow enough space in the bedroom for a double bed and would force my husband and I to sleep in separate rooms in our house. We only got married last year and the thought of living as carer and patient rather than husband and wife was devastating.
We, along with my entire health care team, have appealed this decision. We even paid an architect to submit new plans which would be ideal but we were knocked back immediately. Our rigid, bureaucratic council does not allow cases to be dealt with individually. It's a 'one fits all' system. Like it or leave it.
We are hoping to raise enough funds to carry out the work ourselves. Every penny donated will be used to ensure our house is not only accessible for my needs but still feels like a family home that we can live in and enjoy for as long as possible.
Thank you all so much.
Deanna