East Sussex woman, 32, who can lose consciousness 'up to 60 times a day' battling to raise money for specialised wheelchair

Francesca Francis, 32, has postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), which causes her to faint without warning, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), part of a group of disorders that affect the connective tissues, such as the skin, joints and blood vessel walls.

She has a medical assistance dog called Caz.

The wheelchair she needs costs around £10,000, she said.

Francesca, who lives in Battle, said: “I have needed and been told to get a power chair now for the past six years but I've kept putting it off in the hopes something would miraculously change with different medications, trial and error studies, anything I saw online etc but the reality is my conditions are progressive and with the strain I put my body under by trying to walk on days I shouldn't and struggle through, I'm making things worse and shortening the time I have with a body I can sometimes use.

“The chair assessed to meet my needs is the Permobil M3. This chair costs £10,007 with the basic fixtures I need to keep me safe. I was astonished that a piece of equipment that I cannot hope to live any life without and will eventually cause me to need surgery costs that amount.

“The NHS does not help ambulatory chair users – people that are not permanent wheelchair users – with powered equipment and having EDS means trying to use a self-propelled chair causes my fingers and wrists to dislocate or sublux (slip). I tried and failed when I realised the pain caused trying to move the wheels was bruising me in minutes and I had to go to the hospital the first time I tried for a shoulder dislocation.

“When I faint I don't have the strength to stand back up, as my arms and legs are basically jelly. Recently I was forced to sit in a puddle for 40 minutes until I could move my arms and legs again.

“I have not had a pain-free day for 16 years. My pain ranges from aching and throbbing to laying in a ball, trying not to breathe so as not to move a muscle. I have no idea how bad the pain will be until it hits me.

“I lose consciousness on a daily basis and this ranges from maybe one or two little faints that I can recover from to fainting 60+ times a day and not being able to roll over in bed without triggering an episode. My legs are untrustworthy and they drop as and when they please, meaning I fold and fall a lot.

“Caz is able to smell a change in my scent and give me a three- to five-minute window to get to the ground and hopefully avoid injury when I inevitably lose consciousness. She's incredible and I'm able to go outside my home now with the help of carers and when my body allows.

“This chair could change everything. Not only would the pain be better managed, this chair in particular 'faints' with me so it means it electronically lays back and supports my neck, back and legs while I am unconscious.”

Francesca’s Gofundme page can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-get-a-wheelchair-i-cant-trust-my-body.