Help me get a wheelchair van bc I’m paralyzed & ready to give up
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On November 11, 2013 I woke up and got ready to go to work as a veterinary technician as I always do in the mornings. However, this morning and my life from here on would be devastatingly changed for the worse.
I was sitting on my rooftop before heading to work because it was a beautiful day out. (I did this all the time) Once I stood up to go back inside I tripped over my own feet and fell off my roof in a freak accident. I ended up severing my spinal cord and immediately couldn’t feel or move my legs. I went into shock and don’t remember anything except what my doctor told me.
After hours of emergency surgery, I was awoken to the news that I had suffered a spinal cord injury and will be permanently paralyzed from my waist down. Tears streaming down I asked him if there was any hope in me walking again, what do the statistics say? All I remember was him looking at me and telling me, “statistically, you have a 0% chance walking again.” That is when my life felt like it was officially over.
I can’t even describe the feelings I had to come to terms with over the next few months of incredibly intense physical therapy.
I was only 28 when I had my accident and my 10 year anniversary of my injury was last November. I can say in the past ten years I’ve learned a whole lot about life and people. I ended up breaking it off with my boyfriend because it wouldn’t have been fair to him for me to solely focus on my recovery, which was the truth.
It’s been 10 years and I haven’t had one single date. Men don’t look at me the same. Sadly, i am considered to be living at poverty level and can’t afford a vehicle-nevermind an adapted wheelchair van. Since I’m vehicle-less, this is crazy to say but, I haven’t been out bymyself throughout these 10 years. I’m always with my parents, whom I am so thankful for and couldn’t do this if they weren’t here with me, but I always am craving that alone time and independence. I have no friends anymore so I have no one to go out with to meet people. My “best” friends all ditched me after my accident, literally all of my friends left me behind, so I only have my parents as means of support.
I used to be such an independent and happy person before I got injured. I was also a successful athlete. I was probably the most athletic out of any of the girls in my class. Since freshman year I made varsity in 3 sports; softball, basketball, and field hockey. I was the softball MVP three years in a row and was also the team captain for 3 years and the captain of the field hockey team for 2 years. I never could keep still or keep myself from doing kartwheels even into my late 20s. I was a happy go lucky person. I liked my life. Actually, I loved MY life.
I’m here unfortunately, asking, well truthfully begging for your help. I don’t know how I’m going to get my life to go on like normal again but I do know if I could be more independent it would be so much easier. I depend on my dad for rides to appointments/food shopping. I did take my drivers test and passed it with hand controls. I was hoping to have a vehicle by now but I never knew how much a converted accessible van (electric ramp, hand controls) would cost me. Right now they are selling them used for over $85,000. It’s just absolutely out of my budget since I’m living off of my disability ssa checks.
I’ve tried going back to work at retail stores because my vet tech job wasn’t in the picture for me anymore because I wouldn’t be able to preform a lot of the tasks I’d be responsible for. For example I wouldn’t be able to hold a large dog still while getting blood or injection shots. I have very little core strength left and that takes my balance and strength away.
I would love to be able to purchase my own assessable handicap van so I can do things on my own for once. It’s so hard being a 38 year old woman being stuck in your own apartment that your parents live next to. I don’t want to depend on them all the time. One day they will be fine and I will be even a hotter mess than I am now. I want to meet new friends, have experience normal adults have my age. I feel like I’m still stuck in my 20’s because I have literally nothing to show for the last decade being alive. I contribute to nothing. I am nothing. I want to be something.
I need to start getting my life back together, and I know that if I had an adapted, accessible van, my life would change so much for the better. I’d be the happiest girl in the entire world. It would be a dream come true.
I’m so depressed and down on myself I forget what it feels like to go somewhere alone. I don’t remember the last time I went out for fun without my parents around. It’s miserable to live like I do and sometimes I just want to give up so I don’t have to suffer emotionally anymore because it’s hell on Earth living the way I do.
Please help me with this van purchase it would mean everything to me, everything. Just to get out and drive by myself would be pure bliss. I just want you to know if you do help out, it’s going to serve a very real and life changing purpose, not just something for fun, this is something I need for my life to begin again. If I can’t walk ever again I hopefully can have the opportunity to drive someday soon. Until then I’m stuck, literally.
God Bless you all. Please keep me in your prayers. I need all the help I can get. |
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