Help support Nik as his Cerebral Palsy progresses

Aim

Nik has Progressive Cerebral Palsy, & this trike will give him the freedom he needs, as doctors say he will soon no longer be able to drive.

Those who know our good friend Nik 'Dolphin' will know he has Progressive Cerebral Palsy. He has dealt with this condition with amazing resilience, and you'd be forgiven if you'd forgotten! Against the odds, he has fought tooth and nail to be as independent as possible. However, underneath his cool 'I'm ok' mask, sadly his health has been deteriorating, and he understands that he has got to make some big changes in his life if he is to continue to put off not only a relapse, but defying all the odds as he has done so many times before.

His biggest problem every day at the moment is finding the energy to walk. Doctors have estimated that Dolphin uses three times as much energy as an able-bodied person because of his condition.

Not only does it burn physical energy, but it takes great mental strength, constantly worrying whether he is going to fall down, or if he does get a bit wobbly, he worries that he is going to treated as a drunk, as his speech slurs the more tired he gets (which happens more often than he'd care to count).

Dolphin's medical team can only guess at what may or may not work at this stage, as he's already surpassed all projections of how long he can continue to be able to walk unaided. By all rights, according to his experts, he should be in an electric chair being controlled by someone else already.

So therefore, he in effect, is teaching them.

Ten or so years ago, Nik carried out an experiment. He tried using a wheelchair for half of the day, walking the rest of the day, and also one day in the chair, one day out.

The idea was with less work and strain on his body, he would have less worry and not be as tired. However, Dolphin struggled with the idea of being in a wheelchair even for limited periods knowing he can walk, despite the results it had in reducing his pain and tiredness.

The other biggest game changer for Dolphin at the moment, is that doctors have said he will soon no longer be able to drive. Currently he uses a mobility car where possible, but at this stage, they are now saying that medically speaking they cannot predict his safe ability to drive anymore.

With this big change on the horizon, Dolphin is now having to radically reassess how he can keep active, mobile, and independent. He is far from ready to sit back and be looked after, and still has big plans for the future, which need him to be able to get around by himself.

After considerable research and consultation with his medical team, a great solution has been found, in the form of the Jorvik Electric Trike. This will give him the support he needs while still being able to function independently, enabling him to do what he has always done - smashing expectations and continuing to support his local community.

With this in mind, we would like to ask you to consider donating anything you can to make this happen and support this inspiration man, who is a big part of our hearts and community. Any additional funds raised will be donated to The Easton Cowfolk.

With love, the Easton/Plough family x

This project successfully funded on 24th March 2022