A CAMPAIGN has been launched to raise £30,000 for a motorhome which would enable wheelchair users to go on holidays and visit friends and family.

The Southern Spinal Injuries Trust (SSIT) which is based in Salisbury aims to help people increase their independence and quality of life through mobility.

Chairman of the trustees, Jeremy Major, said: “Sometimes it’s not easy to find the right accommodation for wheelchair users to go away with their families or carers.

“When one of our trustees heard that this motorhome was for sale, we realised we must have it – it’s such a wonderful thing.

“We need to raise £30k to pay for it, anybody who is feeling generous can go on our website and see how to do it.

“We also want to invite people with spinal injury to get in touch if they feel they would like to have a holiday away in a motorhome which hopefully caters for their every need.

“We aim to hire it for a modest charge to cover the running costs. We are not setting any limits on where it can go, it’s still early days. We are also going to be seeking volunteers who can help with the administration and management of the vehicle, so anyone who would like to help, should also get in touch.”

Mr Major started the charity 10 years ago after his secretary broke her neck falling from a hammock.

It now helps people who have either been treated in the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre at Salisbury District Hospital or who live in the area that the unit serves.

The centre which is one of 11 spinal units in the UK covers the south and south west of England.

The charity helps to fund resources for the spinal centre and acquires specialist equipment or assistance for individuals.

“We quickly realised a lot of people were out there looking for help,” Mr Major said.

“We acquire very expensive equipment such as power-assisted wheels, profiling beds and hoists.”

He added: “Anybody who’s interested in hiring the motorhome should get in touch – it is for people with spinal injuries but we will entertain enquiries from other people with disabilities.”

For more details regarding booking a holiday and hire charges contact SSIT at info@ssit.org.uk

To help donate visit www.ssit.org.uk or donate by post to SSIT 21 Chipper Lane, Salisbury SP1 1BG with reference ‘motorhome’.

Mother-of-four Myfanwy Foster was left paralysed after her car slid on black ice in Burcombe three years ago.

Mrs Foster’s car overturned and she had to be cut free by firefighters before being taken by air ambulance to Southampton General Hospital, where she remained in intensive care for a month.

She was then moved to the spinal centre at Salisbury District Hospital for five months, later returning to her home in Sutton Mandeville.

Speaking about the motorhome purchased by the Southern Spinal Injuries Trust, she said: “It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity because when you have got a spinal cord injury as I have, you think the worst thing that’s going to happen to you is that you’re in a wheelchair. That in itself is pretty devastating but gradually you begin to realise all the implications of that. 

“One of those is that you can no longer go and stay with a lot of the people you love and are familiar visiting – it’s not possible for you even if you can get into their house because you can’t get upstairs to sleep, it’s not possible for them to get a bed downstairs for you. There’s also nowhere for you to wash.

“All the paraphernalia that goes with spinal cord injury which you have living at home, you have to carry everywhere you go. It all makes it almost impossible to stay with friends and family and makes you feel more cut off then even being in a wheelchair. 

“By taking this motorhome to a friend’s or family, you have got everything you need with you – you can stay for a week with somebody as you have got your own place to wash, sleep and have your carer.

“It provides such liberty not just for holidays. For example, a huge family reunion took place in Edinburgh last year. It’s very difficult for me to go to something like that but with this, I could have gone and been a part of the party. 

“For most individuals, they’re too expensive to buy due to all the adaptations which are necessary. Hiring it through a charity and making it available to everybody is pretty wonderful.”

Mrs Foster is hoping to visit her parents, who are both in their late 80s, after Christmas in Europe.

“They live in rural France,” she said. “It’s too difficult for them to make a bedroom downstairs. I’m hopeing to park the motorhome in their drive, I haven’t visited them for about five years.”

Paying tribute to Jeremy Major’s continuous efforts for the charity, Mrs Foster said: “He has done so much himself as an individual to raise funds. 

“He really believes in helping spinal cord injury patients once they’re at home living their lives because he feels a lot of issues arise once you’re home. 

“The risk is your life shrinks and shrinks as your choices becomes more limited.”

KEY FEATURES

  • The motorhome is 32 feet long, 11 feet high and eight feet wide.
  • The motorhome has a wheelchair lift to a wide-access doorway
  • There is also a removable passenger seat for a wheelchair-user to be next to the driver
  • It seats and sleeps up to six people
  •  It has a scissor-action hospital bed next to a 6'×3' panoramic window
  •  There is a lounge/dining area with 360° turning circle
  •  There are storage cupboards and a hanging wardrobe
  •  It has a fully equipped kitchen with fridge/freezer, four hob cooker, oven, grill, microwave, and is fully equipped with crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils
  •  It has central heating
  •  It has a ceiling hoist from above the hospital bed which leads into the wet room
  •  The wet room incorporates two showers, a basin and a flushing toilet