Make them see how much you want and need to go to Seattle. I know that Sandy Siegel can provide us with letters to send to all of our relatives, friends, and co-workers asking them to make a personal donation to help us to finance our trips. We may also be able to obtain sponsorships or grants from local service clubs with a copy of the letters from TMA about the purpose of the trip and exhibiting a financial need for their support. Your church or religious group may be willing to sponsor you financially or assist you in raising money. You may need to come up with the ideas, but you will be able to find people who will understand that you are not able to do all of the physical work involved and they will help you.
Retail businesses love to get their names and pictures in the paper for helping humanity.
Some grocery and restaurant chains provide coupon books for organizations to sell to raise funds. A club or class could sponsor this for you. Raffles can raise large funds quickly once you have obtained the items to raffle and checked on the state and local laws concerning such programs. Good luck and let's get started in the New Year raising money to get to Seattle and even a little extra to send to the TMA to help defray the cost of the conference. Please share your ideas with each other on the Transverse Myelitis Internet Club or through letters to each other in the mail.