Having a serious medical injury such as quadriplegia is certainly hard, so many of them often need help for quadriplegics. By definition, this condition causes the sufferer unable to functions their arms and legs. This is often caused by a severe injury at the cervical spinal cord, resulting in permanent paralysis on the limbs. In United States, as much as 12000 new cases of spinal cord injury happen every year.
There is currently no known cure for this condition and the equipment and therapy needed to make life easier for these people is often unreachable because it is very expensive. In other words, although technology is very advanced many of these people who are suffering from this spinal cord condition can’t afford them. That said, it is certainly not impossible so stay positive!
Help for Quadriplegics Options
We will provide valuable information in this post that you can use to find some financial help you desperately need. By the end of this post you will see that even though life can be difficult sometimes, there are still help available!
Grants and financial help for people with quadriplegics may come from various sources, including health care center, organizations, foundations, and also governmental agencies. Most of the grant providers only have a limited budget. Some decides to help in the manner of ‘first come, first served’, hence people applying at the end of the application opening often don’t get the free money. It is often that the some grant providers open their application submission process at the same timeline, so you should apply for multiple grants at the same time too. Another tip would be preparing for the grant beforehand. Make sure that everything needed for the grant is available.
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
If you are coming from a nonprofit organization needing some funding to provide services for people with SCI such as quadriplegia, you can apply for a grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. The application process starts on March 1 and ends on September 1. The foundation will provide up to $25,000, available twice a year. Nonprofit organizations that serve underserved communities and wounded veterans receive preference. Annual deadlines for submission occur on March 1 and September 1.
Travis Roy Foundation
This foundation focuses on two things: providing help for the quadriplegics and paraplegics patients, and also providing support for the medical research in the field of SCI-related paralysis. They offer quarterly grants on March, June, September and December, and the amount of grants range from $2,000 to $5,000. The money should be used to purchase equipments needed for the quadriplegics or paraplegics so that they can be more independent in their daily life.
Cindy Donald Dreams of Recovery Foundation
This foundation started back in 2005, and currently it is focused to provide financial grant for therapeutic exercise training and equipment for those living with quadriplegics or paralysis due to spinal cord injury. People with SCI from all ages can submit the application at any given time, and the organization can give you up to $15,000.
Kelly Brush Foundation-Sports Equipment
Last but not least, there’s the Kelly Brush Foundation that is aimed for individuals who are suffering from paralysis due to the spinal cord injury such as quadriplegics. It is hoped that these individuals can attend to social activities such as adaptive sports and recreation. The money should be used to purchase adaptive sporting equipments. Applicants should provide essential information including their medical record, source of income, and the type of equipment needed.
Other notable Quadriplegics help programs are the SCORE fund which is similar to the Kelly Brush Foundation program and also the Helping Hands Monkey Helpers. We find the Helping Hands Monkey program is interesting because it lends you trained monkeys that can provide companionship and help some daily tasks like opening bottles and picking up dropped items.
References:
- Travis Roy Foundation
- Christopher Reeve Foundation Application Process and Requirements
- Dreams of Recovery Foundation
- The Official Benefits Website of the U.S. Government
- Image: washingtonpost.com
