Edit: first goal achieved - thank you so much everyone! I’ll be getting the power chair when the funds clear through.

Edit 2: unfortunately the chair I had planned to get is no longer available, and the additions that I require to the “off the shelf” models have meant my goal is now £4000. This is heartbreaking as I have been messed around by suppliers since Christmas and my condition has deteriorated.

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Hi there!

My name is Katy, I’m 34 and I’m a bit broken. I‘ve got joint hypermobility (EDS) which in a nutshell means that my joints are too bendy. It used to be a great party trick, but now my joints dislocate and subluxate (a fancy word for partially dislocate) on a daily basis - usually several times a day. It’s as painful and annoying as it sounds.

For years my mobility has deteriorated, going from walking ok to having to wear ankle splints (so they don’t roll and dislocate while I’m walking), to having to use a walking stick most of the time. Then I got pregnant.

When you’re pregnant your ligaments relax, you know, so a baby can get out. Unfortunately my ligaments were already a bit rubbish. So when the relaxing happened, I ended up needing a wheelchair. I managed to get a second hand, broken, manual chair to manage through pregnancy but had to leave it at my Dad’s house when we moved home, and it’s been out in the rain and cold for almost a year. It’s really not useable any more.

Here’s the kicker.

I also have fibromyalgia and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, so as well as my joints and ligaments being floppy and naff, I’m exhausted and in pain all over, all the time. As you can imagine, it makes life really awkward sometimes. Like when I need to get supermarket shopping or get to the doctors. It also means I can’t push myself in a manual wheelchair for more than a few seconds. Manual wheelchairs are great when you have someone to push them, they’re also over a thousand quid cheaper than powered wheelchairs.

So, good people, here is where I need your help. I’ve seen a powered wheelchair that will completely suit my needs. Unfortunately it’s more than I earn in a month. I’m getting a home assessment for accessibility needs/adjustments next month, but the assessor has said that NHS waiting lists for a wheelchair are long, especially if you don’t particularly need it for around the home.

Anything you can afford to donate will be greatly appreciated, if I manage to raise around half my goal I will be able to buy a mobility scooter. I‘ve set the initial goal at £1500 to cover the cost of the chair including VAT after justgiving fees have been deducted.