Worksop woman appeals to community to help raise funds for basketball wheelchair- so she can play the sport she loves

Amanda Sheenan, of Keswick Road, has already secured a grant toward the wheelchair – but needs to raise £350 in 30 days, or she will lose her funding.

The 24-year-old currently uses a borrowed chair to play basketball in.

However, it does not fit her properly, which makes it difficult to fulfil her potential on the court.

Amanda said: “Just over a year ago I found a wheelchair basketball club and since I joined I have never looked back.

“I have made plenty of new friends and can play sports again, which I had to stop doing when I was in my teens because of my illnesses.

“I’d be so grateful if people could help me hit my fundraising target and develop in the sport I love further.”

Amanda first became ill when she was aged 13 and said “everything went downhill” when she turned 16.

She said: “I had various admissions to intensive care and had to be put on a ventilator quite a few times.

“As time went by my spine also developed problems and I began to get pain in my legs.

“About two years ago I stopped breathing for more than an hour and an ambulance didn’t get to me fast enough – so I ended up with an hypoxic brain injury.

“This has left me with left-sided weakness. I had to learn to walk, talk and do normal things again – similar to what happens when someone experiences a stroke.

“As time has gone on, my left leg won’t support me any-more and now I have to use a wheelchair the majority of the time.”

But Amanda says basketball has given her a new lease of life.

She said: “It has helped with my depression and also gets me out of the house at least twice a week. It takes my mind off the pain and the problems I face daily.”

n To donate, visit Amanda’s Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/amanda-sheehan?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Yimbyprojectpage&utm_content=amanda-sheehan&utm_campaign=projectpage-share-owner&utm_term=Bw3DGGb52