A Port Moody couple has launched a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising more than $34,000 for a new wheelchair.
Janelle Resendes, 31, told The Tri-City News yesterday (Wednesday) the motor on her last power chair stopped working in December.
She said technicians have told her it can’t be fixed and she needs to purchase a new one.
“I need a chair every day,” she said during an interview at the Moody Centre home. “It makes life challenging without it.”
To date, Resendes and her husband Joseph — a Port Moody secondary grad and youth worker who, like his wife, also has cerebral palsy — have collected some $2,000 through the crowdfunding page.
They’ve also managed to secure $14,000 from B.C.’s Ministry of Health and are planning some community fundraisers.
But when they’ve tried to reach out to outside agencies, they’ve hit a brick wall, said Joseph Resendes.
Further, the current wheelchair Janelle has on loan from SelfCare Home Health Products — a medical equipment supplier in Port Coquitlam — isn’t suitable for her work as an artist: It doesn’t have a lift or a tilt-up seat for her to reach her easel.
Janelle Resendes said she’s frustrated and is eager to get back to her business.
“I’ve stopped painting now because I can’t get into the right position to have both of my hands on my brush,” she said. “It has become impossible.”
• To help Janelle Resendes pay for a new power wheelchair, go to gofundme.com and search her name.
