Max
02-14-2005, 10:51 AM
Paraplegics gain new tools for coping with disability
By Francine Brevetti, BUSINESS WRITER
FREMONT: LAST MARCH, at a party in San Jose, high-spirited Fremont resident Kevin Lee dove into the shallow end of his hosts' swimming pool and broke vertebra C1, the first one under the skull.
When he hit the bottom of the pool, he remembered thinking: "Gee, I can't move my arms."
In fact, he suffered total paralysis for many months afterwards. It's surprising that he lived. It's surprising that he's walking at all.
Today, he manages to live semi-independently on crutches in a home that he shares with a roommate. He enjoys the support of his parents and many friends. And he goes regularly to see his doctors and physical therapists at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury Unit, where he spent three months recuperating last year.
Lee remembers what it was like going from being an energetic software programmer to being a paraplegic.
"There was no prognosis. No one knew whether I would walk again," he said.
It was only natural for Lee to look to the computer to communicate with family and friends, but he couldn't use his hands.
"There was no program for Dragon software in the rehab unit," Lee said. "I had tried Dragon software once years before, when AOL was offering itas a curiosity. It didn't work well when I started using it.
"Then I found myself suddenly paralyzed. People were e-mailing me, because they knew I had been paralyzed. I had friends and family, and especially my sister, printing out the e-mails and reading them to me, but it was really slow.
"Two of my former bosses, one from Cisco and one from 3Com, gave me the incentive to learn completely hands-free computer use. They purchased Dragon software, installed and tested it and set it up for me in the hospital. My father constructed a mount that elevated the laptop over my head so I could view the laptop straight over me as I lay in bed. I taught myself with the online tutorials. Then I started showing others in the rehab unit how to use it."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/businessnews/ci_2567160
http://stores.ebay.com/MAKSYM-Variety-Store
By Francine Brevetti, BUSINESS WRITER
FREMONT: LAST MARCH, at a party in San Jose, high-spirited Fremont resident Kevin Lee dove into the shallow end of his hosts' swimming pool and broke vertebra C1, the first one under the skull.
When he hit the bottom of the pool, he remembered thinking: "Gee, I can't move my arms."
In fact, he suffered total paralysis for many months afterwards. It's surprising that he lived. It's surprising that he's walking at all.
Today, he manages to live semi-independently on crutches in a home that he shares with a roommate. He enjoys the support of his parents and many friends. And he goes regularly to see his doctors and physical therapists at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury Unit, where he spent three months recuperating last year.
Lee remembers what it was like going from being an energetic software programmer to being a paraplegic.
"There was no prognosis. No one knew whether I would walk again," he said.
It was only natural for Lee to look to the computer to communicate with family and friends, but he couldn't use his hands.
"There was no program for Dragon software in the rehab unit," Lee said. "I had tried Dragon software once years before, when AOL was offering itas a curiosity. It didn't work well when I started using it.
"Then I found myself suddenly paralyzed. People were e-mailing me, because they knew I had been paralyzed. I had friends and family, and especially my sister, printing out the e-mails and reading them to me, but it was really slow.
"Two of my former bosses, one from Cisco and one from 3Com, gave me the incentive to learn completely hands-free computer use. They purchased Dragon software, installed and tested it and set it up for me in the hospital. My father constructed a mount that elevated the laptop over my head so I could view the laptop straight over me as I lay in bed. I taught myself with the online tutorials. Then I started showing others in the rehab unit how to use it."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/businessnews/ci_2567160
http://stores.ebay.com/MAKSYM-Variety-Store