Hello,
For those of you who don't know me my name is Kris Johnston and due to an accident on a 3-wheeler that I had in 2000 I am now quadriplegic. I didn't get my first electric wheelchair until almost two years after my accident and I loved it! It was extremely comfortable and I used to spend 8-11 hours a day up in my wheelchair which gave me the opportunity to go out and do things with my family or friends. I had that wheelchair for a little over 10 years but the tilt/recline system quit working and insurance wouldn't pay to fix it because it was so old they decided to just buy a whole new chair.
So about four years ago I got my new wheelchair and from day one it has been nothing but problems! It runs fine and the tilt/recline works fine but for some reason it's just very uncomfortable! Insurance paid to have multiple changes and adjustments made none of which made much of a difference. I can't even lean forward, it's like I'm just stuck in the chair. And every time that I am in it I sweat profusely! So bad that I can only stand to be in it for a few hours but those few hours are miserable!
About a year and a hals ago I moved from Tucson Arizona to Springfield Missouri and the insurance is different in this state. I tried to go through Medicare/Medicaid to get a different wheelchair, one that's more comfortable but I was told that because I live in a nursing home insurance will only pay for an indoor only wheelchair, I really need a wheelchair that's capable of outdoor use also because there's times that I take a 2 mile round trip just to go to the store and back. And when I go to my family's houses there's some rough terrain and steep ramps getting into the house.
Ever since I got this wheelchair the quality of my life has diminished more and more! I've gotten to the point where I'm only getting out of bed for those few miserable hours once a week at most. Usually more like once every two weeks or even less. I'm only 41 years old, I shouldn't be living my life laying in this bed!
Shortly after I get into my wheelchair the sweating starts and gets worse and worse until it gets to be unbearable! And as soon as I get out of the wheelchair it goes away. If I could only get a different wheelchair that's comfortable and would make the sweating go away I could spend a lot more time out of bed and out and about doing things with my family and friends! That would be amazing!
New wheelchairs cost anywhere from $20,000 to $35,000 which is ridiculous! But my family and I have found some used refurbished wheelchairs for around the $3000-$4000 range. So some of my family is going to chip in a little bit and anything you can donate will help us out a lot!
Please donate what you can and please share this with your family and friends!
Thank you for reading my story and for sharing it! Have a wonderful day and God bless you all!