Manjimup woman Vicki Jendrsczak’s plea for help as she attempts to head to Perth for annual Telethon trip

A woman whose life was turned upside down when she suffered a serious spinal cord injury in her early 20s is pleading to the community for help as she attempts to make her annual trip to Perth for Telethon. Vicki Jendrsczak sustained a T4 spinal cord injury from a serious motor vehicle accident when she was 21-years-old and is now a paraplegic. She has since been hit with challenges as she learned to adapt to life with no feeling or movement below waist level. She was born and raised in Manjimup but is now considering relocating in order to improve her situation financially, after having been recently terminated “out of the blue” from her job due to the company downsizing. Ms Jendrsczak said she is now without work and a stable income which has left her in a difficult position financially and wonders where she is going to be able to come up with the money to sustain the level of care she needs, pay the bills and keep food on the table. “I hate begging and asking for things but I’ve never been this desperate or this worried or stressed,” she said. Ms Jendrsczak said she is at a disadvantage in terms of her employment opportunities due to her lack of mobility. “There’s so many places looking for someone to work but they won’t adapt for someone like me,” she said. On top of her recent redundancy, Ms Jendrsczak is now faced with the possibility of having no mode of transport. She lives in Manjimup, where there are limited options for someone with a wheelchair to access public transport or taxi services, meaning she becomes literally housebound without a working van. Ms Jendrsczak said she recently had to put thousands of dollars into her specially modified 2015 Chrysler Voyager that now has engine issues which is forcing her to purchase a new vehicle. “I’m at a disadvantage because I require a van that will cost approximately $30,000 dollars which is considerably more expensive than a typical small car,” she said. She said she has been a longstanding supporter of Telethon but as her vehicle was at the end of its life, had prevented her from being able to travel to Perth to attend this year. “I’m a big supporter of Telethon and I’ve been going since my son was about seven, about 20 years,” she said. “I still love to go with my aunty, I’ll always support it.” Ms Jendrsczak is seeking the support of her community via a GoFundMe page to help her to purchase a new vehicle so she can get back up to Telethon. “Even a nice person or a job could change something for me.”