Does everyone deserve to camp?
Donation protected
I would think that everyone deserved to camp, to escape from reality, and to feel free. However, there are times where I begin to doubt that these things apply to certain individuals like me. From a young age, I loved to go outside and see everything I possibly could. I would go to the beach on the weekends, I would go hiking with my family, and I would dream about traveling the world. However, the reality is that I have Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a disease that has deteriorated my muscles to the point where I can’t move my legs, I can’t hold my head up, and I can barely lift my arms enough to write. With every passing day it becomes even more impossible to dream of going on the sand and letting the waves of the beach crash at my feet, or going through the dirt roads that have been such a large part of my childhood. That is, until I found a wheelchair attachment called Freedom Trax. Freedom Trax can convert a manual chair to a “power chair” that has the ability to travel across multiple terrains. I cannot sit in a conventional beach wheelchair because I am unable to hold my head up, and I cannot push myself in a manual wheelchair, but I would be able to use the joystick attachment that comes with freedom trax. http://freedomtrax.com/product/ft-1/
My medical insurance is not able to cover the cost of this attachment because they claim that it “is not a necessity”. Perhaps it isn’t a necessity to go to the beach, or to go camping, or to travel in areas that aren’t traditionally meant for wheelchair users. But to me, my quality of life may be restored to the days before my disability robbed me of my hope, happiness, and freedom. Please, help me turn my dream into a reality.
My medical insurance is not able to cover the cost of this attachment because they claim that it “is not a necessity”. Perhaps it isn’t a necessity to go to the beach, or to go camping, or to travel in areas that aren’t traditionally meant for wheelchair users. But to me, my quality of life may be restored to the days before my disability robbed me of my hope, happiness, and freedom. Please, help me turn my dream into a reality.
Organizer and beneficiary
Karen Dutko
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
Andrew Dutko
Beneficiary