Send me to Ms. Wheelchair America
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My name is Andrea Lewis Klein, and on October 15, 2016, I was crowned Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee 2017 and won both the Advocacy and People's Choice Awards. I am honored to be an ambassador for the disabled in my home state of Tennessee. I am so excited to serve in this role and to advance to the Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant in August, 2017 in Erie, Pennsylvania. I am raising funds for the costs associated with competing in the pageant (fees and travel) and the costs associated with my reign and advocacy across Tennessee (travel) from now until the next Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee is crowned in fall, 2017.
I live with a rare form of Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD) called Collagen 6 CMD. It causes me to be deficient in a form of collagen and affects all connective tissue in my body, including my muscles. I have been blessed in that it's been slowly progressive since its symptoms began soon after birth. For many years, I was able to hide the disease. Since August 2014, I have used a power chair for mobility outside of my home. A few months prior, at the end of 2013, I started using Noninvasive Ventilation (NIV) to help me breathe during sleep. I have been using daytime ventilation via portable mouthpiece (MPV) and a home use ventilator for a year. I thank God every day for what I CAN do and accept what I can no longer do.
My sister Cheryl never learned our accurate diagnosis and passed away at age 38 from a medical tragedy related to respiratory failure. Her death left me compelled to learn as much as possible about breathing muscle weakness in neuromuscular disease. I later created my organization Breathe with MD (see https://www.facebook.com/BreatheWithMD/ and http://www.breathewithmd.org/index.html ). Breathe with MD shares reliable sources of information on breathing muscle weakness and equips patients to become advocates for their own appropriate respiratory care.
My platform focus is to raise awareness about the symptoms and appropriate care for breathing muscle weakness. I also hope to spread the message that a fulfilling life is possible with the use of breathing aids and that there is no limit to what we can do as persons living with MD. I want all who have a disability to understand that it's imperative to be as knowledgeable as possible about your condition so you can advocate for your appropriate care.
Will you support me in these endeavors during my journey of advocacy in Tennessee and to the Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant?
I am also seeking business sponsorships. If your business is interested in sponsorship, please contact me, and I will share the sponsorship levels and information with you.
Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee and Ms. Wheelchair America are both non profit organizations and operate from individual and business donations. To learn more about Ms. Wheelchair Tennesssee and Ms. Wheelchair America, please see https://www.mswheelchairtn.org and http://www.mswheelchairamerica.org . You can follow my reign at https://www.facebook.com/MWTN2017/ .
With sincere gratitude for your generosity and support,
Andrea L. Klein
I live with a rare form of Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD) called Collagen 6 CMD. It causes me to be deficient in a form of collagen and affects all connective tissue in my body, including my muscles. I have been blessed in that it's been slowly progressive since its symptoms began soon after birth. For many years, I was able to hide the disease. Since August 2014, I have used a power chair for mobility outside of my home. A few months prior, at the end of 2013, I started using Noninvasive Ventilation (NIV) to help me breathe during sleep. I have been using daytime ventilation via portable mouthpiece (MPV) and a home use ventilator for a year. I thank God every day for what I CAN do and accept what I can no longer do.
My sister Cheryl never learned our accurate diagnosis and passed away at age 38 from a medical tragedy related to respiratory failure. Her death left me compelled to learn as much as possible about breathing muscle weakness in neuromuscular disease. I later created my organization Breathe with MD (see https://www.facebook.com/BreatheWithMD/ and http://www.breathewithmd.org/index.html ). Breathe with MD shares reliable sources of information on breathing muscle weakness and equips patients to become advocates for their own appropriate respiratory care.
My platform focus is to raise awareness about the symptoms and appropriate care for breathing muscle weakness. I also hope to spread the message that a fulfilling life is possible with the use of breathing aids and that there is no limit to what we can do as persons living with MD. I want all who have a disability to understand that it's imperative to be as knowledgeable as possible about your condition so you can advocate for your appropriate care.
Will you support me in these endeavors during my journey of advocacy in Tennessee and to the Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant?
I am also seeking business sponsorships. If your business is interested in sponsorship, please contact me, and I will share the sponsorship levels and information with you.
Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee and Ms. Wheelchair America are both non profit organizations and operate from individual and business donations. To learn more about Ms. Wheelchair Tennesssee and Ms. Wheelchair America, please see https://www.mswheelchairtn.org and http://www.mswheelchairamerica.org . You can follow my reign at https://www.facebook.com/MWTN2017/ .
With sincere gratitude for your generosity and support,
Andrea L. Klein
Organizer
Andrea Lewis Klein
Organizer
Cleveland, TN
