Help my brother, Andrew, regain his independence.

Hi, my name is Julie and I am Andrew’s sister. Andrew had an accident whilst playing rugby about 22 years ago and ended up in a wheelchair after damaging his spinal cord. He has managed really well up until now but is finding it more and more difficult to get about due to weakness in his arms and shoulders.

In January 2020 he was coming home from a holiday and had a seizure whilst driving along the A14. Luckily his wife managed to get the car off the road safely and called an ambulance. Andrew was taken to West Suffolk Hospital and they found that he had had a bleed on the brain. Obviously this meant that he had his licence revoked until such time as the specialists had given him the all clear. This was delayed in part due to the Covid pandemic and problems at DVLA. He eventually got his licence back in July 2021 but has since found that he can no longer transfer himself easily in and out of the car. He also struggles with putting his wheelchair in and out of the car by himself.

It has been recommended that he gets a lightweight, folding wheelchair and a chair topper for his car. Unfortunately his mobility car is unable to accommodate the weight of the topper so he would need to change this as well. Motability have said they will pay some towards the topper and adjustable transfer plate and possibly some towards the cost of a different car. As he is not due an upgrade to his wheelchair for some time he has been told by the wheelchair service that he is not entitled to anything towards a new chair.

This means that he has to raise in the region of £12,000 to cover all the costs that will be generated. This is not something that he would be able to do as he has been furloughed for around 18 months and has only just started to work again. When he tried to go back to work this is when he found out that he had problems getting in and out of the car without assistance. His employers, Greene King, have been extremely helpful and have allowed him to work from home until such time as he can travel to work independently. Obviously this is not always going to be possible so the sooner we can get him mobile again, the better.

Approximate costs are : car £4,000, chair £3,000, topper £4,000 and transfer plate £1,000.

Andrew has always been so positive with regard to his injury and is still a massive rugby fan. I worry that if he is unable to work or get out and about this will have a detrimental effect on his mental health.

If anyone is able to help we would be so very grateful.