Help me to get a powered move on!
Donation protected
Hello folks,
Well, I'm amazed and thrilled to report that with your incredible help and support, the target has been reached and I've ordered my electric hand bike.
GoFundMe has emailed me saying 'increase your target!', which to be honest sounds mercenary.
If there is one thing I'm now saving up for, it's a spare battery for the bike. They're £400 on their own. Therefore any further donations will be channelled towards buying that.
Again, thank you all so much for your support. You are all stars!
Love and blessings,
Colin
_________________________________________
I'm Colin, I'm 43 and live in Pelsall, Walsall. Up to 2008 I was working practically full time and my health was generally upbeat. I had twinges, aches and pains but things were ok. I was on course to train for a new career as a Sign Language Interpreter - I was excited.
Then....in October 2008, this strange pain started.....at first it was in my hands and feet, and then in the space of a couple of weeks the pain travelled throughout my body. I had loads of tests and assessments, and eventually I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, though even that isn't certain. However, whatever it is, my life has been transformed.
In 2010 I stopped working after a severe bout of flu left me physically wrecked. That was the last time I worked.
Now, it's 2016, and I now have considerable mobility problems, needing a wheelchair to cover distances, crutches for short walks. I am constantly tired and often just have to rest. When using my wheelchair, I am reliant on someone to push me as I simply become exhausted.....and then at the NAIDEX fair....I saw lots of attachments that can convert a manual wheelchair in to a powered one through a handcycle attachment at the front, which turns it in to a tricycle with an electric motor and handlebars with brakes etc. This link shows a typical example:
(note, I qualify for VAT exemption due to it being for disability support)
Having one of these would simply transform my life, and I am not overstating this. It would enable me to get around without being exhausted, and not reliant on someone to push me. They have a range of around 20 miles, ideal for days out, shopping, when I go camping - the list goes on. They are around £1800, and I quite simply don't have that sort of money lying around. I do get PIP and I will use some of that, but it will take quite a while to amass that on top of every day living costs and the extra costs that disability brings with it. I have looked at a scooter, but I simply could not be able to pick one of those up to put in the car (some of them weigh 60kg if not more!) and I've nowhere to store one. These handcycle attachments are much lighter (14kg) and easy to stash away, making putting it in the car so much easier than a scooter.
Therefore I am appealing to you, my friends and anyone else who knows me for a bit of help if at all possible. I have 1200+ friends....just £1 from everyone would take me within reach. I know it's cheeky, and some may be offended, but I have learnt that if you don't ask the answer is always no. Others have also told me that I've apparently done a fair bit over the years for others, and it's time some of that came back to me, so there we are.
It really would make a HUGE (note the capital letters!) difference to me, my life and restore some independence.
Thank you all so much for reading this - and thank you for considering my request for help.
Blessings and peace
Colin.
Well, I'm amazed and thrilled to report that with your incredible help and support, the target has been reached and I've ordered my electric hand bike.
GoFundMe has emailed me saying 'increase your target!', which to be honest sounds mercenary.
If there is one thing I'm now saving up for, it's a spare battery for the bike. They're £400 on their own. Therefore any further donations will be channelled towards buying that.
Again, thank you all so much for your support. You are all stars!
Love and blessings,
Colin
_________________________________________
I'm Colin, I'm 43 and live in Pelsall, Walsall. Up to 2008 I was working practically full time and my health was generally upbeat. I had twinges, aches and pains but things were ok. I was on course to train for a new career as a Sign Language Interpreter - I was excited.
Then....in October 2008, this strange pain started.....at first it was in my hands and feet, and then in the space of a couple of weeks the pain travelled throughout my body. I had loads of tests and assessments, and eventually I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, though even that isn't certain. However, whatever it is, my life has been transformed.
In 2010 I stopped working after a severe bout of flu left me physically wrecked. That was the last time I worked.
Now, it's 2016, and I now have considerable mobility problems, needing a wheelchair to cover distances, crutches for short walks. I am constantly tired and often just have to rest. When using my wheelchair, I am reliant on someone to push me as I simply become exhausted.....and then at the NAIDEX fair....I saw lots of attachments that can convert a manual wheelchair in to a powered one through a handcycle attachment at the front, which turns it in to a tricycle with an electric motor and handlebars with brakes etc. This link shows a typical example:
(note, I qualify for VAT exemption due to it being for disability support)
Having one of these would simply transform my life, and I am not overstating this. It would enable me to get around without being exhausted, and not reliant on someone to push me. They have a range of around 20 miles, ideal for days out, shopping, when I go camping - the list goes on. They are around £1800, and I quite simply don't have that sort of money lying around. I do get PIP and I will use some of that, but it will take quite a while to amass that on top of every day living costs and the extra costs that disability brings with it. I have looked at a scooter, but I simply could not be able to pick one of those up to put in the car (some of them weigh 60kg if not more!) and I've nowhere to store one. These handcycle attachments are much lighter (14kg) and easy to stash away, making putting it in the car so much easier than a scooter.
Therefore I am appealing to you, my friends and anyone else who knows me for a bit of help if at all possible. I have 1200+ friends....just £1 from everyone would take me within reach. I know it's cheeky, and some may be offended, but I have learnt that if you don't ask the answer is always no. Others have also told me that I've apparently done a fair bit over the years for others, and it's time some of that came back to me, so there we are.
It really would make a HUGE (note the capital letters!) difference to me, my life and restore some independence.
Thank you all so much for reading this - and thank you for considering my request for help.
Blessings and peace
Colin.
Organizer
Colin Paul Townsend
Organizer