Help Alice get a sports and day chair (expenses)

Hi, my name is Alice. I am 17 years old, and I live in York with my parents and sister Amy, age 19.

Since I was 2, I have had various issues with my legs having to have serial casting and Physiotherapy etc...finally, at the age of 10, I was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. This is a very complex condition that means I am in constant pain and affects all aspects of my daily life.

My parents have always encouraged my sister and me to take part in a variety of sports growing up despite my difficulties, as I had these unexplained issues and kept getting injuries, sprains and strains, it made this very difficult between the age of 7 and 10 I was on and off crutches, I really struggled to put weight through my left leg.

At times I have been totally bed-bound and unable to do anything for myself or attend school etc....I couldn’t even get upstairs to my own room or bath or shower. A few years ago I lost the motor function in my left leg ( from my toes to my chest) and am a full-time wheelchair user as a result.

Then my life changed. Basketball found me! Someone came to my school York High and did a taster session, and that was it. I knew I had to play, and my Mum found a local club called York Sharks and joined attending sessions a few times a week. The coach Emma encouraged me to push myself and I made significant progress in a short space of time. Emma took me for team trials to play for Yorkshire in the Lord Taverners National Junior Championships in 2017. I was selected and our team won the bronze medal. Since then I have gone from strength to strength playing despite the deterioration of my health. Playing wheelchair basketball truly has saved my life, it is the thing that keeps me fighting to stay as fit as possible so I can play. To be able to develop I needed to play games, so I moved to a new club, Wakefield Whirlwinds and started playing national league division 2, then division 1, Women's league, Junior league etc….striving to improve and progress to the next level to play alongside the role models I have looked up to for many years now.

One of my most recent achievements was competing in the School Games 2021, where my team England North won gold.

https://www.schoolgamesfinals.org/sports/wheelchair-basketball/

My ultimate dream is to represent Great Britain internationally in the years to come. I have recently been spotted by a scout at Women’s league and approached to play in the first-ever professional Women's Premier League. I have signed for East London Phoenix, they have some truly amazing athletes including 3 X Paralympian Amy Conroy. We had our first match on Friday the 28th of January 2022, click on the below link if you would like to look see below link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3SCK6xpCOs

To help me fulfill my potential, I need a custom-built basketball wheelchair that fits me exactly unfortunately they are costly, approximately £6,700. I need help raising funds to buy one and cover the cost for travel and other equipment to help me reach my goals.