Help Sheena Regain Her Mobility and Get Back Outside with her Family!
Sheena has always lived with the physical struggles of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, a progressive neuromuscular disease that deteriorates the speed, functioning and strength of her muscles and nerves in her feet, legs, hands and arms. Her CMT has likely affected her since infancy, as she was a delayed walker. Throughout childhood, finding shoes to fit was difficult and ankles were often sprained. She has never been very well coordinated or able to jump, climb, or run effectively. Now this hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy is progressively stripping her of the little mobility she once enjoyed.
Adding to her struggles, a head-on auto collision in June left her lasting Traumatic Brain Injury symptoms, further compounding mobility difficulties by degrading her balance and coordination. She has been out of work since the wreck due to her injuries, and is now laid off since her lab lost their contract. She has several appointments with specialist and physical therapists over the next several months, so finding a new job is extra challenging.
Sheena now has difficulty with walking even while using her beloved colorful wizard staff style walking sticks to get around the house, which is not the easiest with increasing neuropathy and weakness of her hands and arms. To make it even worse, she is still only able to use one of her hands for weight bearing or gripping since her finger was badly broken.
Her declining mobility has caused her to miss most outdoor activities with family and friends, like Hiking and Biking with her children, which are active Scouts of America and Girl Scouts. She also has missed her family reunion, trips to county fairs, amusement parks, and some camping trips. She can no longer walk the dogs around the block or ride her bicycle, and even most trips to the store have been replaced by online shopping.
The Solution: The Alinker Walking Bike
There is a solution that can bring light back into Sheena’s life: the Alinker walking bike fills the mobility gap. This innovative, self-propelled walking bike would not only enhance her mobility, it will also restore Sheena's connection with her children, pets, family and friends. An Alinker will even give her the opportunity to experience running for the first time in her life! Your support can make all of these dreams a reality.
How Your Support Makes a Difference
Every contribution will go directly towards an Alinker walking bike for Sheena. This isn’t just about a product; it’s about regaining a sense of freedom, independence, and community. With your generous support, she will once again, find herself surrounded by family members and able to join in on life’s activities.
Stay Involved and Spread Awareness
Sheena intends to use this opportunity to raise awareness about invisible mobility-limiting conditions like Charcot-Marie-Tooth, various hereditary sensory motor neuropathies, Ataxias, and other progressive neuromuscular diseases. By supporting this campaign, you'll not only help Sheena get moving again, but contribute to the awareness of these important issues.
Join us on this journey of hope and transformation! Together, we can help Sheena reclaim her life and enjoy precious moments with those she loves the most.
The campaigns are about sharing. Most people have no idea what life is like when you live with MS or what happens after you have a stroke. Isolation is often a bigger problem than the symptoms of the disease itself. With the campaigns we can share and educate people, because it can happen to all of us. When we create a movement where people simply show up for each other, it might get a bit ‘safer’ and less ‘scary’ to engage with each other. Some people share their experiences on their campaign, others share their funds to support the campaigns. It is not about asking for money, it is creating an opportunity for people to learn and show up with #generosity. Being generous resonates with who we are as humans. We understand generosity deeply and when you practice it, you feel so much better
PLEASE NOTE
- The campaigns are in USD $, and since to the pandemic the price increased from September onwards $2950 USD. This includes the Alinker, shipping, process and campaign fees and our #AlinkerFamily support.
- The campaigns are all or nothing, no credit cards are charged unless the campaign reaches its goal.
- As soon as the campaign reaches its goal, we ship an Alinker (from direct stock or you'll be placed in line, delivery 6-8 weeks).
- Campaigners do not handle money. On disability or welfare, you cannot handle money without being penalized, but you can receive an Alinker !
- When the campaign raises more than the goal, the campaigner can chose another campaign which we then make the donation to, paying it forward, or the balance will be placed in our Collective Campaign to help future campaigners.
- If you want to start a campaign and are outside Canada or the USA, write an email to stephanie@thealinker.com. We can potentially get a shipping quote to where you live, and include that in the campaign goal, though we like to keep shipping at a minimum, so we will not ship anywhere beyond $250 shipping costs.
Together we build a movement of kindness and generosity, because we all need it
Why do we facilitate crowdfunding on our site?
We believe that the Alinkers should be available for everybody, regardless of income and people who start a crowdfunding campaign here, will have access to a life changing Alinker. These crowdfunding campaigns are the first step to make Alinkers available for everybody. BE and the Alinker company are now putting their energy together to build a generous community around all the campaigners! The campaigners are people who allow others to show up generously, give them love!
Here is the Alinker segment as was aired on CBS Innovation Nation October 2019 - https://youtu.be/pk96VDkJ9NU
Why an Alinker?
Generally, medical devices are a technical solution for a body with a
problem.
The Alinker is designed for who we are, a whole human
being, who wants to live an active and engaged life. We are a human,
we have a body. Whether we miss a leg of have MS, it does not change
who we are.
Yet the world we live in, treats us as a body with a problem, which creates a social divide between people based on their body, based on what we have, not on who we are. Isolation and loneliness are more devastating than the disease itself. So we need to show up for each other, acknowledge each other and be present to who we are.
These campaigns are here to bridge the gap between a high quality custom Alinker, and the people who live at the receiving end of a 'sickcare' system that drives people into poverty.
So, show up, be radically generous, it is something we humans really
understand.
When you read each story in each campaign, pause and
imagine who that person is, and why they started the campaign, reach
out to them, let them know they are surrounded and seen, heard and not
alone. When we do that, we feel better and create a safer community
where we know we can show up for each other. It connects us with our
essence, we are radically generous creatures, we just got a little
lost in systems that are not designed for our wellness.
Alinkers change lives, here are a few people
GO TO CROWDFUND, WHY, HOW, START
Who is the Alinker for?
The Alinker is for people who want to stay active, regardless of mobility challenges.
To operate and use the Alinker you must have the ability to:
- walk to some degree
- flex and extend your legs
- bear weight on one leg briefly while getting on and off the Alinker
- be consciously aware of your surroundings
- be aware of your ability and limitations
What is the Alinker?
The Alinker is an exceptionally cool, three-wheeled walking bike
for humans with mobility constraints. It’s not a medical device,
it’s a lifestyle tool, designed to enable users to lead active and
socially engaged lives — at eye level.
On the Alinker, users sit upright -- at eye level with standing
companions. Weight is supported by the seat with no stress on the
lower body, while handle bars provide additional support. Feet remain
on the ground, keeping users stable and safe.
GO TO CROWDFUND, WHY, HOW, START
