A GREENOCK woman says she’s been left virtually housebound for the last five years because of a rare genetic disorder.

Lauren Lillian Haggerty suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), which causes her joints to dislocate every day.

The 29-year-old, who also has muscle atrophy as a result of a tumour in her hand, says there are some days when she is “absolutely unable to move” – and admits that she’s sick of getting “dirty looks” on the rare occasions when she is able to get out and about.

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Lauren relies on mobility aids and the support of her fiancé James whenever she leaves her home.

But because she’s not confined to a wheelchair 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Lauren says she doesn’t qualify for NHS help to buy the electric wheelchair she desperately needs to give her the independence she craves.

She’s now launched a fund-raising appeal for help with the significant cost of buying the new wheelchair herself – but is determined to do her bit to help others in need at the same time.

Lauren is knitting hats to help others and to support her own fund-raising appeal. (Image: George Munro)

“For the past five years I’ve been housebound for 90 percent of the time,” Lauren told the Tele.

“I only get to go out a handful of times every couple of months, and most of the time it’s for hospital appointments.

“Due to the issues, I have with my legs I can’t walk for very long periods of time, but I can still get around the house.

“Most of the time I’m using a mobility aid unless I’m taking a lot of painkillers.

“I’m struggling. I’ve been out many two or three days this whole summer and I’ve had to be given vitamin D and iron tablets because I’m not going out enough.

“They did blood tests on me and my hair was falling out. It got to a point where something had to be done about it.

“Almost every day I have some sort of half dislocation or full dislocation. James needs to pull my joints back in quite a lot.

“I get a lot of pain from that, and I also have a tumour in my left hand.

“I have muscle atrophy because of that, as well as instability in my neck and my back which means I can’t sit down in one position for long periods of time any more.”

Kind-hearted Lauren has a wheelchair that James is usually able to push, but her mobility has been further restricted recently after James broke his wrist.

She says that the foldable electric chair she hopes to buy would give her more independence and make getting around much easier.

Lauren suffers from the rare genetic condition Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. (Image: George Munro)

“I have nieces and nephews who I’d love to take places or go down the Battery Park with, but I just can’t keep up with them.

“I’d be able to get on to buses and go places or just go up and see my mum, but at the moment it’s just too much for me to walk and do that.

“And if I fall down I need James to help me get back up.

“I have a herniated disc at the bottom of my back and the joint between my pelvis and my sacrum is dysfunctional, which means it can dislocate and my legs just stop working.”

While Lauren is confined to a wheelchair for most of her time, and any time she needs to leave the home, the fact she’s not completely chair-bound means she isn’t eligible for financial support from the health service for an electric version.

Lauren added: “I’m not tied to my chair 24/7, and because of that I don’t qualify for an NHS voucher for the chair I’m looking to buy, so I have to raise the funds myself.”

And she admitted that while awareness of EDS is gradually growing, she still has to deal with stigma on a daily basis.

She said: “I’m an ambulatory wheelchair user, so some days I can be absolutely unable to move.

“There are times where I can’t get out of bed. I can’t sit up. I need help to get to the bathroom. But there are other times where I can get up and walk with my stick, although I’ll be heavily medicated.

Lauren admits she's sick of getting 'dirty looks' on the rare occasions when she is able to get out and about.  (Image: George Munro)

“It’s really hard. People don’t understand. Even when I’m in my chair, if I stand up people will give me a look.

“They think that people who are in a wheelchair that are moving their legs are faking it, and I get dirty looks constantly when I use my disabled badge for the car.”

She says that in return for every donation made to her appeal, she’ll knit a hat to give to others who need support, with premature babies, the families of stillborn children, and adults in need all in her sights.

Lauren hopes that by the time winter rolls around she will have knitted 1,000 hats which can be distributed to people who need them.

She added: “I know there will be people who will be judgemental about me asking for money when I could be just donating the hats, but I figured this would be a way that I could give something back rather than just asking for money.

“I’m going to keep making the hats no matter what, but this is something that helps everyone, it helps people in need and helps me hopefully save up the money I need.”

Those who wish to donate to Lauren’s fundraiser can do so at tinyurl.com/3rnjtebv.