AFK Mobility Equipment Provision Service

We are very proud to have changed the lives of many children and young people with disabilities and autism for the better and we would like to thank you for your generous support. I am delighted to provide an update on our work over the past year.

Last year we supported 99 disabled children and young people like Cameron and Ziggy with the provision and maintenance of specialist mobility equipment and we are currently experiencing an unprecedented number of applications.

 Cameron’s Story

Cameron is a teenage boy who has cerebral palsy. He loves the outdoors but couldn’t get out and explore as much as he would like to as his manual wheelchair would get stuck.He was getting around using his Kaye walker and his manual chair when he got tired. He relies heavily on his sister to manoeuvre him when his Mum is not around.  Cameron had an assessment for an Extreme X8 all-terrain powerchair and his family applied to AFK for funding towards this chair which they knew would make such a difference to his life and his ability to be independent.

 Cameron told us “I like the beach and watching my little cousin play football but I have to watch from the car at the moment as I can’t get down to the field when it’s muddy. I once did a charity walk in my Kaye walker to raise money for another boy like me, I would like to do something for someone else. I would love to be able to try new things, I would like to do a big adventure in the dales or lakes but it's really hilly and uneven. If I had this all terrain chair it would be amazing to go over the muddy fields and big bumps.”

As the cost of the all-terrain chair was more than £14,000, AFK collaborated with several charities on the family’s behalf to raise the required funds. The chair took a few months to arrive as it was made to order and shipped from Australia and was delivered just in time for Cameron’s 15^th birthday.

His Mum got straight in touch and told us: “It's here, Cam's just come home from school and couldn't believe his eyes, he honestly hasn't stopped smiling yet. This is just so hard to put into words how much it's going to help our family and Cam's social life "

Later in the summer, the family were able to use Cameron’s new chair on their family holiday to Cornwall. His Mum sent us this message: “Cameron is absolutely chuffed to pieces, he’s been buzzing up and down the beach loving life. Before this chair, I cannot tell you how much we had to cope with carrying all his stuff not to mention getting stuck with the old chair and embarrassed about people helping us lift him. It got to the point where Cameron couldn't enjoy himself, please again thank all involved, it’s seriously a life changer for us.”

Sigourney’s (Ziggy’s) Story

Sigourney (Ziggy to her family) is 7. She has a rare genetic disorder affecting the MBD5 Gene. This means that she cannot walk very far or for very long, she falls over frequently and she cannot run and jump like other children her age. She has difficulty regulating her emotions and has behavioural difficulties. She relies on sign language to communicate and struggles to participate in daily life alongside her siblings. She needs a huge amount of support with daily living, including washing and dressing. Ziggy is currently learning to use her ‘talker’ to communicate; this is a big challenge for her, but she has been working really hard at learning how to use it. Earlier this year she started horse riding with her local Riding for the Disabled Association. She has found this really hard work and tiring but loves to ride and she is managing longer each week and is doing really well. Ziggy’s family are very active, but she was not able to join her family on days with the dogs as her NHS-supplied wheelchair is not suitable or safe for this kind of terrain. Many of the wheelchair-accessible walks in their area do not allow dogs. As she has grown bigger, her family found they were struggling to carry her and her wheelchair didn’t allow them to go ‘off road’ at all. Ziggy’s family applied to AFK for funding to buy a specialist off-road buggy which would enable the family to spend so much more time together doing the things that they love. The Axiom Endeavour pushchair that we were able to buy is a specialist all-terrain buggy designed to give her the physical support that she needs, as well as enabling her to access the beach, woods and other off-road areas safely.

Ziggy’s disability means that she needs some time to get used to new things, but within a few days she was happy to try it out for the first time. Her Mum told us “We have been able to all go on a long dog walk and I have been able to run alongside her 2-year-old brother riding his balance bike whilst pushing Ziggy in her buggy. It's going to make our family life so much more inclusive for her and easier for her Dad and me. You can see how happy, supported and comfy she is! It's just an absolute game changer. All down to you guys. Thank you so, so much!” 

Links:

• AFK website
• Four AFK mobility stories