Introduction

Chris has had his this wheelchair for over 10 years. It's falling apart, and even when he did have insurance, it was going to be almost $1000 to replace it. Now that Chris is currently unemployed, and I'm only getting part time hours, we are in dire need of help. We aren't usually the kind of people to ask for handouts, but we are desperate.

Here's the situation:

• Right before we moved, his right front wheel broke off. It was over $250 to get it replaced, and they had to completely change the type of wheels because they discontinued making the type of wheel he needed, and the replacement part was used and old, so he basically had to relearn how to steer the front of the wheelchair.
• His larger, back wheels are so used and worn down that there is soft fabric coming out from under the rubber.
• His seat is being held together with zip-ties, and is littered with holes from the years of use.
• The metal frame is so beat up that the paint is long gone on some parts, and has metal spurs and sharp spots where it has repeatedly hit the ground from breakdown to put in the car.
• There are so many things wrong with this wheel chair that we are actually starting to get worried that it will not last much longer.

Friends and family have suggested that Chris apply for Medicaid, but even if he did, they would give him a standard wheelchair, that will not help with his needs.
So this is a desperate plea to our family and friends to donate whatever you can to help us out.

This wheelchair is the one we are striving for:
http://www.sunrisemedical.com/products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441787825&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395235801&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474400872674&bmUID=1331432545843

Because Chris is missing an arm and a leg, there would need to be modifications to the chair and the wheels. Including the cost of the wheelchair and the cost of the customization, it's going to cost us near $5000, so that is our goal.


And as a bonus, who ever donates the largest amount will get to choose the color scheme of the wheelchair from the 17 colors available on the website (so this is your chance to force Chris to sit in a bright pink wheelchair for the next ten years!)

Whoever donates $15 or more will receive a super awesome hand made gift from me. It could be anything from jewelry to figurines to paintings.

This would seriously be a life changing event. In the long run, we are attempting to get Chris a new prosthetic leg. It would pretty much be the best thing to happen, but there is so much that we have to do in order to be eligible for help in that department (physical therapy, weight loss, etc) that we are trying to take it one step at a time, and his current wheelchair isn't going to make it through what we need it to do.

We will thank those of you that can donate, and those of you that can't we just ask that you pass this along to get the word out, and hopefully the kindness of strangers will help us out.