Carla Spooner is working hard to help her long-time friend Heather Kinch, who has multiple sclerosis and is in need of a mobility scooter to increase her quality of life.
Spooner said she first became friends with Kinch four years ago when their daughters were attending Palsson Elementary School in Lake Cowichan together.
She said Kinch had MS then and was unable work, but was still able to drive and physically get around with a walker or a cane.
“But I’ve watched Heather steadily decline since then and now she’s been isolated in her home, a rented single-wide trailer on the outskirts of Lake Cowichan, since before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Spooner said.
“She and her husband managed to get some funding for a stair lift to at least get her down the stairs from her house to ground level. Before that she couldn’t even leave the house after a series of falls and a broken ankle.”
Spooner said, despite the difficulties in her life, Kinch continues to remain positive and really wants to get back to being active in the life of her nine-year-old daughter Phoebe.
But, Spooner said, while Kinch is now able to make it to her car, the only place she can go where she can get around is Duncan’s Walmart which has shopping scooters for disabled people to use when shopping.
“Heather is not able to do any activities with her husband and daughter without having a scooter, and she hasn’t even been to Phoebe’s school for the past two years,” she said.
“The family tried to get her a scooter, but her husband’s medical coverage from work doesn’t consider scooters essential and won’t cover the cost. With only one income, the family can’t easily afford a scooter, but it would help Heather so much. I started a go GoFundMe page and have raised about $1,500 so far towards the goal of $6,000. I’m hoping people will be willing to help a local mom with MS be free to move about her community again.”
The GoFundMe page can be found at https://gofund.me/b5c86d4d