Help give Beth her freedom back

In April, my good friend Beth was admitted to hospital unable to move. She's now unable to use her legs and has become a full-time wheelchair user. We would be so grateful for any support you can offer her to give her her freedom back.

For those of you who don’t know Beth, she is adventurous, loving, resilient and an advocate for young disabled people. Since the age of 16 Beth has been in and out of hospital.

Beth has always been incredibly active, even working as a climbing instructor in summers but due to her declining health, she has been a part time wheelchair user for two years. This has not held her back, and she has spent the last few years living independently in Cardiff, working for charities, pursuing her passion for writing, and speaking publicly at events.

In April, Beth was admitted to hospital, unable to move and after much rehabilitation can now sit up but can’t use or feel her legs. When Beth bought her house in February, she was still able to use her legs, but only for short periods of time. She can no longer climb stairs or use her legs at all. This has meant she has had to move back into her parents inaccessible house, an hour away from her life in Cardiff, where she has to sleep on the sofa in the living room.

We would all hope that if we become severely unwell that there would be some form of support system in place from the health system. Unfortunately, this system is currently failing Beth. She can't go home and can't get out by herself. Her local authority and the NHS have both failed to support her.

Now she's a full time wheelchair user Beth's wheelchair (which she had to self-fund and they cost thousands) is unsuitable as it is far too heavy for her to self-propel very far and is causing permanent damage to her body. NHS Wales have refused to help. As she can’t self-propel her wheelchair very far she can’t leave the house alone. She also doesn’t have access to an adapted car.

For £6,000 she can buy an electric attachment which essentially does the hard work for you and allows you to move around without exhausting yourself. Luckily, Beth was able to find a second hand one for £2,500. It would give Beth so much freedom and joy. She'd be able to go out independently again, enjoy the outdoors and it would significantly reduce her pain and fatigue.

She is also in desperate need of a stair lift to make her house accessible again. Unfortunately both the bedroom and bathroom are located upstairs so she is unable to return home. Anything raised above the cost of the wheelchair attachment will go towards the costs of fitting a stair lift and a much needed front door ramp!

Beth has never asked for help; she has always been the most resiliant person, and has the most positive outlook on life. So now we are asking for help for her; any money you can donate will help Beth regain her independence and freedom. We'd be so grateful for any contributions, from £1 to participating in a sponsored event.