A SELFLESS Eckington 18-year-old is hoping to raise thousands of pounds for a state-of-the-art wheelchair that will end her three year hospital isolation.
Antonia Payne-Cheney was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome in March 2012.
Since then the debilitating conditions have left the teenager confined to hospitals for the past three years, the £24,992 Antonia needs to raise for the wheelchair will allow her to get out and about again.
“I need to be able to experience the outside world again, which has been totally inaccessible to me over the last three years,” Antonia said.
“If I could do that it would enable me to extend my charity work and allow me to help other young disabled children.
The 18-year-old hasn’t let her hospital stay stop her from helping other people, she became an ambassador in 2014 for national charity Caudwall Children who support disabled children and their families.
She is hoping the local community and businesses will get behind her campaign so she can do more charity work and help highlight the needs of other disabled children.
“A new wheelchair would allow me to get into classrooms where I could explain to pupils that disabled children and young people don’t always get the equipment they need,” she added.
“The statistics are frightening! There are 770,000 disabled children in the UK, that’s one in 20, and of these one in six live in a household struggling to afford heating or food.
“That’s why I’m so determined to raise the money needed for the chair. It will allow me to encourage much needed fundraising support for children who are not getting the equipment that they need through statutory measures.
Visit www.justgiving.com/appeal4antonia or text ANTO88 followed by the amount to 70070 to donate to Antonia’s appeal
