Because of my EDS and the hormonal issues I've faced over the past few years my hip mobility has been steadily degenerating. This means that whilst my current wheelchair is usable, it's not providing the support my hips need and is causing more problems than it is solving.

Wheelchair services came out and visited and presented me with two options, one is a personal wheelchair budget to go towards a chair of a similar weight to my current one, and they will also cover the specialised back and cushion I now need, or to take one of their active chairs. The problem is that the active chairs they offer weigh 6 kilos more and that means exerting an extra 20% energy (5% per kilo) than I currently do with the weight of my existing chair, which will lead to further dislocations and subluxations.

The approximate budget they've given me right now is £1800 + the cost of the back and the cushion. But that means I'm still £2000 short of the cost for a new chair. Including the extras I'll need to make sure it's custom fit exactly to my needs. The more time I spend using an inadequate chair, the more damage I'm doing to my already weak hips and the more likely I am to lose any function my legs currently have. In the past eighteen months I've already lost 50% of what my walking ability was and 75% of what my standing ability was. I want to try and preserve what I have left for as long possible. My gait is considerably different to what it was three years ago, let alone where it was when I started my wheelchair journey.

I'm looking at getting a Ti-Lite ZRA with a Jay Back and specialised cushion as well as certain tweaks and customisations designed to ensure that I'll be able to use the chair for at least 5 years if not longer. It needs to be able to support my back fully as well as my hips, so that I'm no longer risking destabilising my hips and putting pressure through parts of my legs that I shouldn't be when sat in my chair.

Any help will be gratefully received as my wheelchair quite literally serves the function of my legs.