We are raising funds for a private wheelchair for our son Charlie as the wheelchair he has been provided with is not suitable for his needs moving forward.

Charlie is 12 years old and has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He is a full time wheelchair user and he cannot sit up without the correct postural support. He needs full time 1:1 care as he is unable to carry out any daily tasks or activities alone. Charlie cannot talk but he is currently learning to use an iPad to communicate.

Unfortunately the wheelchair he currently has is becoming increasingly difficult to manouvre as he gets older and heavier. We really struggle to get out and about with him and are very limited as to where we can go with him as it becomes a real tip risk when it is not on a completely flat surface. We struggle to even push him around in his home town as the paving is so uneven never mind when going out to other areas. The chair is a one size fits all one so it does not account for a lot of Charlie’s postural needs as he grows.

As a family we love to get out and about and Charlie really enjoys being in the fresh air. We enjoy taking our dogs for walks and visiting new places but find we are now so limited on where we can go and we are having to constantly research accessibility before we go anywhere new. 

The chair we have been quoted for Charlie would be fantastic for him as it would make it so much easier to get around so we will be able to get out more and spend quality time as a family. 

The chair is really supportive for him and it will be able to account for all of his postural needs. Charlie has a leg discrepancy and a slight curvature in his spine due to the tightness in his muscles, the new chairs postural support will help prevent either of these problem from getting worse as he grows. The chair also has suspension which will be so much more comfortable for him, especially when he spends all of his day in it.  We will have so many more options of where we go as a family as it has larger wheels that will allow for different terrains.

All in all this wheelchair will give Charlie a better quality of life. 

The chair we are looking to raise funds for is £10,998. We have currently raised £2,500 towards this.