A lot of expensive equipment and alterations have been necessary to try and maintain life as normal as possible
Invocare wheelchair 2019
After a lot of fundraising and hard work, my new wheelchair arrived yesterday! Thank you so much to everyone who donated and thank you to my family, Daniellé, Brett, and Kaide who went the extra mile. It’s definitely going to take me awhile to learn how to drive properly but I’m so excited about my new adventures.
Giving back
Kerry donated her old chair to a deserving applicant who was very appreciative!
Another Wheelchair
It is time for a new wheelchair and the quote this time is huge! She needs a tilt-in-space for her back and this adds to an already large quote of around R180 000!
New Transport
We had the Vito for over six years and Kerry after her back surgery was having difficulty in getting in as she was now so much straighter and taller so we decided to get a new van. We were lucky to get a great discount on a new Ford Tourneo which has a higher head space ! The Ford has also been converted and now Kerry’s new transport. We decided to keep the old Vito as our backup vehicle so the trusty Mazda had to go!
The next Wheel Chair
Kerry’s Permobile wheelchair has proved the most comfortable and reliable so far but will need to be replaced in the near future – the cost for the present one (kindly donated) nearly five years ago was over R 100 000!
House Alterations
We have done several alterations to our house building ramps in several places enabling Kerry to have full run of the house, we also had to remove a built in cupboard in the bathroom to enable her access. We also have a bath lift to enable us to easily lift Kerry in and out of the bath – also kindly donated by the Leah Riley Foundation. We have a pool lift donated by the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation as swimming is very good exercise but due to her increasing weight it is difficult to get Kerry in and out of the pool.
Wheel Chairs
We have already been through two wheelchairs – the first one paid for by medical aid at R22,000, the second partly paid for by medical aid and partly by the family at R20,000 and a third kindly donated by the Leah Riley Foundation at a cost of R19,000. The latest news on the wheelchair front is Kerry has managed to outgrow her latest wheelchair and we are having to get a new one for her! This time we are looking at helping her back (bad scoliosis) which is in a lot of pain lately so we are getting a tilt in space Permobile chair from Switzerland. This chair is able to tilt back so she is almost lying down when tired and traveling and also comes with a seat that can rise up so that Kerry will be able to reach things that are presently out of her reach! We hope to get this chair by the end of March and then it will take a week or so to fit the special backrest.
Transport
In 2008 we decided to purchase a larger vehicle to enable Kerry to drive her wheelchair in and out of the car. This was a huge expense as not only did we need to obtain the vehicle we also had to fit it with a tie-down system for the chair and ramps which came to R24,000.
Daily Assistance
When Kerry is at school we have to pay for an assistant to go with her and Lindsay is unable to maintain full-time employment to help with these expenses as she needs to available to Kerry for when she is ill, goes on outings or when her assistant is unavailable.
