Help Wendy get her wheels

Hi, my name is Wendy and I live a pretty typical life: mortgage, car payment, parent teacher conferences and a full-time job.

I also happen to be a wheelchair user. every 5 years I am entitled to a new chair but only if my current chair is totaled (think car and car insurance). A few years ago, I decided that the next time I got a new chair, I would pay for an extra feature called lift,(or elevate), instead of remodeling my kitchen to make it more accessible . Lift raises the seat of my chair to different heights, which would make my kitchen more accessible, along with the rest of the world. The only problem is, insurance says not medically necessary so I knew I would have to pay for it out of pocket in addition to my $1,000 copay. I did the research and my out-of-pocket expense should have been somewhere around $3, 000.

I prepared myself for that expense and on June 9th of 2022 I got the prescription and other documentation from my doctor to start the process of ordering a new chair. What should have taken a taken a few months, took almost a year, and included two insurance denials and lost paperwork too many times to count.

Because the process took so long, I now have to add $800 of a $1,500 yearly insurance deductible to the total amount for the chair. along with a joystick and wiring harness that insurance won't be for because they say those things had to be upgraded because of the lift feature. I found all this out when I got word that my chair was finally approved. I paid for half of the total balance of $5,600 and change in order for the chair to be ordered. My chair should be ready in the next week or so but will not be delivered until the other half of the remaining balance is paid.

Because of family emergencies and other life expenses over the past year and the unexpected expenses connected to the new chair. I'm about $1,700 short and that's if I give them every penny I have.

I hate the idea of asking for help for myself, even though I work for a non-profit A friend recently put things into perspective for me. He said "Wendy. You once told me that independence is not about doing everything for yourself. Sometimes it's also about knowing when to ask for help." So, I'm asking