Now, Amy lives her life in a wheelchair, most days are filled with fatigue and constant pain. Amy faces many physical challenges on a daily basis because of multiple medical conditions. Her meds keep her medical conditions at bay as much as possible, but she still frequently suffers from periods of fatigue and infections. Dolly Pawton, Amy’s Cardiac Alert Service Dog, is always present to help with daily tasks and alerts Amy if her blood pressure is dropping too low or heart rate is rising to an unsafe level.

Amy can now live her life in a more reasonable and enjoyable manner. She is a very independent person and has always been active and very athletic so it’s hard for Amy to slow down even when her body is telling her otherwise. Dolly helps her function without having to depend on others. With Dolly by her side 24/7, Amy can once again enjoy outings with friends, trips to the lake, and taking Dolly to dog sporting events. Amy still has to be very careful not to overdo it as she will oftentimes end up sick and in the hospital.

The main obstacle for Amy now is her transportation. She has a car but is physically unable to place the wheelchair inside the car. So she has a special wheelchair topper which raises the chair and places it on top of her car into a roof carrier. Also at times, it is medically impossible for Amy to use her manual wheelchair so she uses a power chair but because Amy does not have a vehicle that can accommodate a power chair she must stay home.

This method of transporting the wheelchair is not only burdensome and awkward for Amy, but it is also dangerous. During the Maine winters, there are very often icy conditions causing the chair to literally freeze inside the roof carrier. When this happens, it is impossible for Amy to get the chair down from the car top carrier. Many times, she is stuck waiting for someone to come help her lodge the wheelchair from the ice.

Amy’s not having adequate and safe transportation often times puts her in dangerous situations. Just last year, the wheelchair fell from the top of the car on Amy and broke her arm. On many occasions, the wheelchair has fallen loose from the bar that raises the chair to the top of the car and has fallen or almost fell to the ground. Every time she loads and unloads that wheelchair, she takes a chance of having an accident and you can see an example of the wheelchair in the video below.

Unfortunately, Amy’s medical conditions prevent her from working and she must depend solely on Social Security Disability for her daily bills and expenses. There is not nearly enough left over for the purchase of a vehicle with modifications for her wheelchair.

Amy is now looking to Help Hope Live to facilitate in providing the funds for her to purchase a wheelchair accessible vehicle with the necessary modifications for her wheelchair so she and Dolly can safely ride and travel. Any donations to Help Hope Live will certainly be appreciated by Amy…and Dolly.

Amy has chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.

For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.

Thank you for your support!