A FUNDRAISING evening will be held for a young woman who needs a lifechanging wheelchair.

Lucy Watts, of Swans Green Close, Benfleet, is holding the event at the Tandoori Parlour, in Hart Road, Benfleet, to raise cash for a new chair.

Lucy, 21, fights a daily battle with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome – a rare tissue disorder which has left her in a wheelchair and suffering intense periods of pain and chronic fatigue since she was 14.

The life-limiting illness, caused by a defect in the body’s collagen, means Lucy struggles to sit up unaided and has to be fed through a tube.

A new wheelchair, costing more than £22,000, would help her get out and about more.

She said: “I need a special custom- made electric wheelchair to meet all of my needs. Its the Permobil F5 Corpus. It will support me and make me as independent as possible.

“I would be able to sit up far, far longer than I can now and be comfortable when I sit up – currently sitting up is a huge ordeal and is excruciatingly painful.

“Even just to sit in the lounge or garden with my family, rather than being stuck in my bedroom in bed all the time, would be a huge breakthrough.”

The fundraiser will also be Lucy’s 22nd birthday celebrations.

She added: “I have raised around £14,000 so far and the chair will be delivered on September 23. My friend has said she will make up any money I need for the chair.

“The event will be a party as I haven’t celebrated my birthday in years, there will be a raffle, a DJ and much more.

“The new chair will make such a difference to my life, it will mean I can so much more.

“I will be able to get out and about. It really will change my life. It also means I will be able to spend quality time with my family, and I hope to get out and fundraise for other people.

“The chair will help me to help others.”

To find out more about the event, on October 1, or to donate, visit Lucy’s page www.gofund me.com/lucyschairappeal