Lucie Powell, 44, from Witham, says she never thought she’d be in the position of “standing with a begging bowl”.
She’s appealing for help to fund life-enabling wheelchairs made with Omeo technology for herself and four others, saying they have been left with “absolutely no other option.”
Lucie, who lives with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a complex condition affecting the brain’s signalling, says it took 18 years to receive her diagnosis.
By then, irreversible damage had taken its toll.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this because it will lay me completely bare to the public,” Lucie said.
“We are literally begging because there’s no way to fund the equipment we need.
“There are absolutely no finance options on wheelchairs like the Omeo. None. You can loan against a house — but most of us are in social housing.”
FND has left Lucie wheelchair-bound, and though she has rehabilitated herself twice before, her third relapse in 2022 changed everything.
She said: “I look like someone with cerebral palsy when I move, and even standing weight-bearing now causes pain. I was stuck indoors, unable to do anything, until a kind lady gifted me a second-hand chair. It changed my life.”
The chair she’s now fundraising for, the Omeo, is a revolutionary, hands-free, self-balancing powerchair that can traverse countryside, beaches, and woodland — places Lucie once loved.
She said: “These chairs don’t just give you mobility, they give you access to life.
“I now look at the Omeo as the only way to manage my condition. No one should have to put their life on hold because they can’t afford basic equipment to live.”
For Lucie, the struggle is compounded by an inflexible benefits system.
She said: “If I try to save £21,000 to buy this wheelchair, I lose all my disability benefits. You can’t win. The system penalises us for trying to improve our lives.”
Lucie was a van-lifer after she became ill as she could no longer work.
But in 2018, her static caravan was destroyed during the Beast from the East, which spiraled her into homelessness.
She said: “I ended up living in my nearly 40-year-old motorhome on the side of the road.”
When it comes to accessible vehicles, Lucie lays bare the harsh financial reality.
She said: “I’ve just been given high-rate disability payment, PIP. And you think, great, I can get a wheelchair accessible vehicle. But then you look into it — to get a van with a ramp, you need a balloon payment of £10,000 to £20,000. And that’s every three years.”
“What no one tells you is, yes, the government might pay the monthly rental — but you still have to find that huge upfront cost yourself. And when the rental ends, the vehicle is taken away, and you have to come up with the money again.
“It’s a vicious cycle. You need the equipment to live, but the cost means you’re always one step from losing everything again.”
Despite losing so much — her health, career, and even a period of housing — Lucie remains a tireless giver.
A Reiki healer and spiritual consultant, she has spent years supporting others in need, offering free paranormal help and energy work.
Her work was so inspiring that bestselling author Santa Montefiore based her heroine, Pixie Tate, on Lucie.
She said: “Pinky — that’s what people call me because of my hair — became the model for a time-travelling psychic in Shadows in the Moonlight.
“Santa says I inspired her. But an Omeo chair is what will give me my mobility back, it will give me access to the countryside. It will help my mental well-being and enable me to what I love most: helping the community and those in need.”
Lucie’s dream is to raise enough for five Omeo wheelchairs.
She said: “If I succeed, I want to set up a charity to help others fund life-changing chairs. We need to turn disability into ability — not just for us, but for future generations.”
“This isn’t luxury,” she adds.
“This is access. This is dignity. And right now, there is no way to get it without asking the public for help.”
Her GoFundMe is titled Keep us Rolling which hopes to raise £120,000.
