Help Kenni Get a Custom Wheelchair
Donation protected
This is me! I’m Kenni, and I’m 17 years old!
And while I may look fine on the outside, I’m dealing with a few (very) painful conditions. I have what’s called Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD), which is a condition where your joints can become unstable and dislocate, in addition to chronic pain, fatigue, muscle aches, extreme pain even in non-weight bearing joints, and several co-morbid conditions. It’s very similar to (and often gets lumped in with) Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which is more well known and causes similar symptoms. Long story short— it hurts. A lot, almost every day. And while it can be manageable in the winter, the summer heat (especially in Oklahoma where I live) can cause my joints to be extra likely to dislocate and ache. This, in turn, makes me very depressed in all the warmer months, as my physical ability only goes down as the temperature goes up.
Speaking of co-morbid conditions to my first one, about two years ago I started experiencing symptoms that are very likely Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)— a condition that commonly comes with HSD. This condition causes the muscles in your legs to not restrict properly when going from a sitting to a standing position. When those muscles in your legs don’t restrict properly, it can cause the blood in your head to drain into your lower body, which leads to dizziness, heart racing and palpitations, and fainting, all of which happen to me on a regular basis. When I took these symptoms to my cardiologist, though, she dismissed my symptoms entirely, saying that the symptoms were due to my antidepressants, and she recommended me sugar-free Liquid IV. Well, thousands of dollars of Liquid IV, several electrolyte drinks, and a complete change in antidepressants later, and lo and behold, I’m still fainting. And it’s gotten worse, with dizziness and fainting spells starting to hit me in the shower, during chores, in stores, and even in cars.
On top of all that, me and my mom are completely impoverished. We are on food stamps, and we’re in government assisted housing. All that’s not for a lack of trying— my mother was a teacher for 20 years, before she developed severe burnout and had to take a few years off to collect herself. In January of this year, she began applying for jobs religiously, with the hopes of getting us off of government assistance. She is diligent and efficient. She wouldn’t stop even during dinner time or to take a break, and by this point she’s easily applied for over 400 jobs. She even has her friends looking for jobs for her to apply to. But as of writing this, it’s August 24th, and not a single job has come through. This is so frustrating for the both of us, and my disabilities are only making this harder on the both of us.
But enough of our sob stories. This is where you come in.
While our lives are at a standstill in terms of jobs and healthcare, I’d like to take one thing off my mother’s plate and crowdfund to get myself a wheelchair. I need it now more than ever, with my fainting becoming more common in public and causing more risk for injury, and it’s stressing our family out so much. Especially my mom, who feels completely helpless about my disabilities.
I know what I’m asking for is an exorbitant amount of money, but even chipping in $1 or $3 is a MILLION steps closer to the goal. I’m asking for the price of the custom wheelchair with the specs I need, plus an extra $150 for tax. (I’ve already been fitted and approved for one, but the one I have can’t even really fit down my hallway, through my bathroom door, doesn’t fold at all, can’t be picked up, and needs a VERY SPECIFIC type of van to be able to transport it, and as people who are carless right now and relying on family friends to get around, it’s just not possible to take my wheelchair really anywhere. It’s never left my living room in the two years I’ve had it, but only because it is physically impossible to take with me.)
The wheelchair I hope to buy is the Quickie M6 Heavy Duty Folding Wheelchair, with as little of the custom equipment as I could get.
(the exact wheelchair is pictured above)
(All the specs and their prices. A little embarrassing that it’s all out there, but truthfully I’m so desperate that I don’t care.)
I have no date to reach the goal by, honestly if I even reach half the goal at all I’ll consider this thing a complete success. It would be a dream come true for me AND my mom if I got this chair, but if any substantial amount of money is donated to this gofundme, I WILL let you all know exactly where it goes. Any and all of it will most likely go to a wheelchair for me, dream chair or not. Any excess will either be used for necessary accessories for the chair, or to keep our family out of homeless.
Even sharing is so so so SO appreciated!!! Thank you so much if you made it this far!!
And while I may look fine on the outside, I’m dealing with a few (very) painful conditions. I have what’s called Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD), which is a condition where your joints can become unstable and dislocate, in addition to chronic pain, fatigue, muscle aches, extreme pain even in non-weight bearing joints, and several co-morbid conditions. It’s very similar to (and often gets lumped in with) Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which is more well known and causes similar symptoms. Long story short— it hurts. A lot, almost every day. And while it can be manageable in the winter, the summer heat (especially in Oklahoma where I live) can cause my joints to be extra likely to dislocate and ache. This, in turn, makes me very depressed in all the warmer months, as my physical ability only goes down as the temperature goes up.
Speaking of co-morbid conditions to my first one, about two years ago I started experiencing symptoms that are very likely Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)— a condition that commonly comes with HSD. This condition causes the muscles in your legs to not restrict properly when going from a sitting to a standing position. When those muscles in your legs don’t restrict properly, it can cause the blood in your head to drain into your lower body, which leads to dizziness, heart racing and palpitations, and fainting, all of which happen to me on a regular basis. When I took these symptoms to my cardiologist, though, she dismissed my symptoms entirely, saying that the symptoms were due to my antidepressants, and she recommended me sugar-free Liquid IV. Well, thousands of dollars of Liquid IV, several electrolyte drinks, and a complete change in antidepressants later, and lo and behold, I’m still fainting. And it’s gotten worse, with dizziness and fainting spells starting to hit me in the shower, during chores, in stores, and even in cars.
On top of all that, me and my mom are completely impoverished. We are on food stamps, and we’re in government assisted housing. All that’s not for a lack of trying— my mother was a teacher for 20 years, before she developed severe burnout and had to take a few years off to collect herself. In January of this year, she began applying for jobs religiously, with the hopes of getting us off of government assistance. She is diligent and efficient. She wouldn’t stop even during dinner time or to take a break, and by this point she’s easily applied for over 400 jobs. She even has her friends looking for jobs for her to apply to. But as of writing this, it’s August 24th, and not a single job has come through. This is so frustrating for the both of us, and my disabilities are only making this harder on the both of us.
But enough of our sob stories. This is where you come in.
While our lives are at a standstill in terms of jobs and healthcare, I’d like to take one thing off my mother’s plate and crowdfund to get myself a wheelchair. I need it now more than ever, with my fainting becoming more common in public and causing more risk for injury, and it’s stressing our family out so much. Especially my mom, who feels completely helpless about my disabilities.
I know what I’m asking for is an exorbitant amount of money, but even chipping in $1 or $3 is a MILLION steps closer to the goal. I’m asking for the price of the custom wheelchair with the specs I need, plus an extra $150 for tax. (I’ve already been fitted and approved for one, but the one I have can’t even really fit down my hallway, through my bathroom door, doesn’t fold at all, can’t be picked up, and needs a VERY SPECIFIC type of van to be able to transport it, and as people who are carless right now and relying on family friends to get around, it’s just not possible to take my wheelchair really anywhere. It’s never left my living room in the two years I’ve had it, but only because it is physically impossible to take with me.)
The wheelchair I hope to buy is the Quickie M6 Heavy Duty Folding Wheelchair, with as little of the custom equipment as I could get.
(the exact wheelchair is pictured above)
(All the specs and their prices. A little embarrassing that it’s all out there, but truthfully I’m so desperate that I don’t care.)
I have no date to reach the goal by, honestly if I even reach half the goal at all I’ll consider this thing a complete success. It would be a dream come true for me AND my mom if I got this chair, but if any substantial amount of money is donated to this gofundme, I WILL let you all know exactly where it goes. Any and all of it will most likely go to a wheelchair for me, dream chair or not. Any excess will either be used for necessary accessories for the chair, or to keep our family out of homeless.
Even sharing is so so so SO appreciated!!! Thank you so much if you made it this far!!
Organizer and beneficiary
Kenni Wright
Organizer
Tulsa, OK
Mia Wright
Beneficiary