John’s story
To go from being active to being unable to walk and dependent on others overnight had a huge impact on John’s life. John’s wife had almost lost hope when an application was submitted to Charity Link for a powered wheelchair. Having a powered wheelchair would give John dignity and a bit more independence to improve his and his wife’s daily quality of life.
John’s wife Susan was woken in the middle of the night to find that he was suddenly unable to feel his legs. John was rushed to hospital and underwent emergency surgery to remove an abscess from his central spinal chord. Unfortunately, the operation was unsuccessful and John was left permanently
paraplegic, being paralysed from the waist down.
John had worked all of his adult life through to retirement, and to go from being active to being unable to walk and dependent on others to care for him overnight had a huge impact on his mental health. Susan became his carer and advocate to enable John to gain access to the services and equipment
available to him – this proved a minefield.
Susan had almost lost hope when an application was submitted to Charity Link for a powered wheelchair. As John could operate this himself, it would help him regain some independence and Susan could have some respite from pushing his manual wheelchair. She’d found this extremely challenging and this meant
that they didn’t venture far or often – greatly impacting on their quality of life.
Our expert team identified several external charities, including the Book Trade Charity and the Printing Charity (due to John’s employment history) that we could apply to on John’s behalf. Applications were successful and over £13,500 was raised to purchase both a specialist wheelchair and a riser recliner chair to help with John’s comfort at home.
It is hard for most of us to imagine what John and Susan have been through so unexpectedly – but these items have made a huge difference to both John’s own wellbeing and the quality of life of his wife and family.
Our support with specialist mobility or disability-related equipment (when these are not available via statutory sources) really does change lives.
"It’s fantastic to see all the ways the community comes together to improve the lives of people in need. From undertaking challenges, to dress-up days, quizzes, raffles and cake-bakes, to donating, setting up a regular gift, volunteering or spreading the word, it all helps to ensure people living in hardship are warm, safe and fed and have the basics in life that we all deserve."
Camile is a single parent doing everything she can on a daily basis to care for her young child on her own without a support network. Her washing machine broke some time ago, forcing her to travel to a launderette…
Read More
Beth and Carl are working parents doing everything they can to provide for their family, but like so many other families, they are struggling with the relentless rise in food and fuel costs. Their situation took a sudden turn for…
Read More
Zaina was referred to us for support by her Tenancy Support Worker as she was in desperate need of some household essentials after years of abuse, firstly from her husband and then by what she thought was a kind stranger……
Read More
Throughout their relationship, Lylia’s husband has suffered from several long-term mental health conditions, and over the years, his mental health declined significantly. He began to be physically and emotionally abusive towards Lylia, and after a long period of trauma and…
Read More
Lucas is retired and has stage 3 kidney disease. He agreed with his daughter and son-in-law that he would sell the house he had owned for many years and move in with them; this would reduce his costs, and they…
Read More
After a period of homelessness, Josh recently moved into sheltered accommodation. Having served in the British Army for more than 20 years, before later working in the prison service, a serious injury left him unable to work and facing significant…
Read More
Nathaniel was in his sixties when he suffered a stroke. While recovering in hospital, he was evicted from his rented home and lost many of his items. When Nathaniel was discharged, with no home to go back to, he went…
Read More
Ela is in her early twenties and has suddenly found herself stepping into the role of a parent for her younger sister. Ela’s sister was removed from their mother’s care after being subjected to abuse. Ela, who had been trying…
Read More
Helen has multiple physical ailments making it difficult for her to get around and is reliant on a powered wheelchair for daily use. We previously supported Helen with a wheelchair in 2017, however it now needs replacing as it is…
Read More
Alice left an abusive relationship to make a new start for herself and her young son. This was very challenging for her, as her ex-partner had been extremely controlling, including taking charge of all the finances. She left with no…
Read More