Since Zjos Dekker’s mother had a brain haemorrhage in May last year, she has been very dependent on others. A special wheelchair should help her to regain her freedom and independence. So Zjos started a crowdfunding campaign.
Zjos Dekker from Heesch is ‘perhaps the nicest autist on Twitter’. She has now moved to Utrecht for love, but her parents and sisters still live in Brabant. “My sisters are fantastic, they are very much present as caregivers for mom. My father is retired but back to work two days a week to make ends meet,” says Zjos. “Then mom is alone at home.”
Zjos’ mother suffered a brain haemorrhage in May last year. “Actually, she has spastic on the right side,” explains Zjos. “She has very little strength. She can only walk small parts with the walker, but climbing stairs is really not possible.”
To get out, her mother is completely dependent on others. “While she was working as a postman before her brain haemorrhage, she was always outside.” For Zjos and her mother it is about independence. “You just don’t want to be dependent.”
And it sounds strange, but those small steps her mother can take now are already a huge improvement from how it was before. “The area in her brain that’s affected is the same area that’s affected by alcohol, so she always felt like she was drunk the first time,” Zjos says. “That the whole world fluctuates, she has had that for months. And then she had to relearn everything from brushing her teeth to walking. A lot of it is very difficult.”
Zjos wants to do what she can to help her mother get some of her old life back. “Look, I can’t take that brain haemorrhage and I’m not capable of being such a fantastic caregiver. But here’s what I can do.”
From the Social Support Act (WMO) Zjos’ mother was recommended a scooter. But Zjos is not happy about that. She herself has a completely different wheelchair in mind. “The love baby between a Segway and a wheelchair”, she calls it herself. “She can’t get into a scooter herself, then she still needs help. This one is much smaller and it’s much easier to get into a restaurant, for example.”
The special wheelchair costs about ten thousand euros second-hand, Zjos wants that amount gather together. After two days, almost seven thousand euros has already been received. “Absurd isn’t it? Really nice!” It’s the power of Twitter. “Mama proved that herself years ago. Then she set up a campaign in the same way for a woman with lung problems. Her electric bicycle was stolen. She had the amount together within a day.”
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