Hello, I'm Daniel who, at 6 feet 5 inches, looks like the most capable, healthy man around. I'm young, at 34, but I'm completely dependant on limited state benefits and expect to be so for the rest of my life. I don't like it, but it's the cards I have been dealt.

I live alone in a Housing Association flat and have tried to carve out the best lifestyle I can, given the health problems I face. I would describe myself as a 33 year old, having the genetic make-up of a 90 years old man. The health problems include:

Aspergers, which makes me stressed when faced with change

Growth Hormone deficiency, which causes decreased muscle mass and low energy levels

Pituitary Disease, which makes me feel tired or weak

Proximal Myopathy, which causes muscle loss and weakness

Osteoarthritis, which gives me limited motion

Osgood-Schlatter Disease, which causes pain that gets worse after exercise

Acromegaly, which causes giantism.

So, I feel worse than I look. The walking stick is my only giveaway. But please, I don't want you to feel sorry for me, because that helps no-one. I can be very self-sufficient in many ways, except for mobility.

At the moment I can manage to get around on a large-framed bicycle. Medical opinion is that I won't be able to do this for much longer before I need some assistance. An electric bicycle would help me, but unfortunately, the state does not offer that kind of assistance. I have an appeal outstanding to gain the support element of ESA but don't hold out much hope. A mobility scooter is not an option as I live in a first floor flat and have nowhere to store one on the ground floor. I also live 1.5 miles from the shopping centre with many hills between.

At present, I can use the bicycle to get to my college course, though I am sometimes too tired to ride home and have to chain it up and catch the bus (using my concessionary bus travel pass). I also use the bicycle to travel to the local supermarkets, where I try and pick up the “best before” shelf bargains. My basic needs are met by the limited benefits I am entitled to, but if I could only address the mobility problem, I should be delighted. My own family have been unable to offer any financial assistance, for various reasons and having Aspergers.

I have done some research and find that an electric bike, sized for a very tall man, costs about £1,750.

Would you like to help me keep my independence?

01 - 10 - 2018

Thank you to everyone who contributed to my Crowdfunding page. Whilst I was hoping to achieve the cost of a new eBike at £1,750, nonetheless, I was very pleased to have achieved £670. I managed to top up this figure to £780, with some back pay I received from my Appeal to the Employment and Support Tribunal, This allows me, with the help of an experienced friend, to order a conversion kit that changes my manual bike to an electric one. This will now make a considerable difference to me, as I have often been too weak to ride my bike home. I have had to leave it chained up and taken a bus ride home. I can now ride to the local supermarket and take the bags home on my carrier. I can also attend college on it once again, as it does lie on a bus route. It will also allow me to be safer on the local back roads that I use, being able to pull away at lights and get past parked cars on inclines much quicker without drivers getting fed up and overtaking dangerously. You can imagine what freedom it has given me once again, and I am very grateful to those who helped me achieve this position. I'm going to keep the page live as there may be some additional cost to finish the adaption and also because the life of batteries is very short at around 2-3 years so being able to replace it at a cost of £350 is a worry once I become dependant on the motor.