I've raised £40000 to convert Trevor's home to help him live with MND

Organised by Holly Graham
Donations cannot currently be made to this page
Wootton Bridge, Isle of Wight, UK ·Health and medical

Story

At the start of 2017 Trevor was diagnosed with MND (Motor Neurone Disease), a rare degenerative disease that affects as little as 2 in 100,000 people and has no cure. You may remember the global charity event, 'Ice bucket challenge' that was in aid of MND.

Trevor dedicated his career to the fire service for 30 years, working his way up to station manager, before retiring in 2016. Unfortunately, shortly after Trevor’s retirement he was officially diagnosed with MND, in January 2017. This diagnosis is impossible to fully accept and forever throws new hurdles for Trevor to face.

Trevor’s youngest children are only 9 and 11 years old and he has remained incredibly strong for them. MND is very unpredictable and can develop in any order and at any speed. Symptoms of MND have developed rapidly and Trevor continues to deal with every stage so admirably.

In October 2017 Trevor’s life changed dramatically, his diaphragm had weakened so severely that he was taken to hospital in a medical emergency. He faced an extremely challenging time and has spent over 4 months in the ICU, including Christmas and his children's birthdays. Trevor and his family fought to keep him going and this resulted in a ventilated tracheostomy* being fitted. He now uses eye gaze* for his communication. Trevor is recovering from this ordeal and with the requirement of 24/7 nursing care, he now tackles the next stage of life living with MND.

We are raising funds to build an extension on Trevor's home which would create an accessible bedroom and wet room. He now requires lots of equipment to help with his day to day needs. This medical equipment and his bed are currently in the living room of his family home. Raising this money would allow Trevor to have access to a bathroom again and return the living space to him and his young family.

All donations are warmly received, please do share this page.

*A tracheostomy (tray-kee-OS-tuh-me) is an opening cut into the windpipe, or trachea. It is used as an airway for breathing. After the opening is made, a small tube is inserted to let air in, and to attach a breathing machine (mechanical ventilator).

*The Eyegaze Edge is an eye-operated communication and control system that empowers people with disabilities to communicate and interact with the world. By looking at control keys or cells displayed on a screen, a user can generate speech.

You can find out more about MND and the MND association here:

www.mndassociation.org

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About fundraiser

Holly Graham
Organiser

Donation summary

Total
£16,323.74