Max
01-17-2005, 06:16 PM
Quadriplegic seeks help to keep working
ROSS DOLAN
Associated Press
MITCHELL, S.D. - Garry Jons is looking for a few dependable employees.
The 34-year-old draftsman is himself an employee at the Trail-Eze Trailer division of Dakota Manufacturing in Mitchell, where he creates blueprints for custom trailers using complex, computer-aided drafting software.
Jons got his job in August, but he is worried that unless he can find steady caregivers he will be unable to remain at his job and do it well.
Jons is quadriplegic. His legs are paralyzed and while he has partial use of his arms and hands, his hands have little gripping strength. He gets about by using a van with a hydraulic lift and special electric wheelchair, which he operates with a tiny joy stick.
As someone with a serious spinal cord injury, Jons is dependent on caregivers for his personal needs. He requires help to be put to bed, to get up, get dressed and out to work in the morning. A special hoist is used to move him about at home. At a hardy 6 feet 2 inches and 275 pounds, the hoist is needed.
Ironically, Jons was headed to work when his life was changed forever. It was early morning Feb. 11, 1999, that Jons, driving state Highway 50 near Yankton, struck a patch of black ice.
His '70s-vintage pickup was airborne for 50 to 100 feet before it rolled and came to a crashing stop in a field. The truck had only a lap-style seat belt, which Jons wasn't using. He figured it was his head smashing into the windshield that probably dislocated his neck and crushed his spinal cord.
He recalls nothing from the time of the accident until he awakened in a Sioux City, Iowa, hospital a day or so later.
He later learned that a good Samaritan saw the accident and sheltered him from the 60 mph winds and 30-degree temperatures until help arrived.
"It took about a day before I realized what really happened," he said. "I wasn't scared or frightened."
Following surgery Jons was sent to Craig Hospital in Denver, one of the country's premier rehabilitation centers. There he continued his healing and met new friends who faced similar challenges.
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/10663044.htm
http://stores.ebay.com/MAKSYM-Variety-Store
ROSS DOLAN
Associated Press
MITCHELL, S.D. - Garry Jons is looking for a few dependable employees.
The 34-year-old draftsman is himself an employee at the Trail-Eze Trailer division of Dakota Manufacturing in Mitchell, where he creates blueprints for custom trailers using complex, computer-aided drafting software.
Jons got his job in August, but he is worried that unless he can find steady caregivers he will be unable to remain at his job and do it well.
Jons is quadriplegic. His legs are paralyzed and while he has partial use of his arms and hands, his hands have little gripping strength. He gets about by using a van with a hydraulic lift and special electric wheelchair, which he operates with a tiny joy stick.
As someone with a serious spinal cord injury, Jons is dependent on caregivers for his personal needs. He requires help to be put to bed, to get up, get dressed and out to work in the morning. A special hoist is used to move him about at home. At a hardy 6 feet 2 inches and 275 pounds, the hoist is needed.
Ironically, Jons was headed to work when his life was changed forever. It was early morning Feb. 11, 1999, that Jons, driving state Highway 50 near Yankton, struck a patch of black ice.
His '70s-vintage pickup was airborne for 50 to 100 feet before it rolled and came to a crashing stop in a field. The truck had only a lap-style seat belt, which Jons wasn't using. He figured it was his head smashing into the windshield that probably dislocated his neck and crushed his spinal cord.
He recalls nothing from the time of the accident until he awakened in a Sioux City, Iowa, hospital a day or so later.
He later learned that a good Samaritan saw the accident and sheltered him from the 60 mph winds and 30-degree temperatures until help arrived.
"It took about a day before I realized what really happened," he said. "I wasn't scared or frightened."
Following surgery Jons was sent to Craig Hospital in Denver, one of the country's premier rehabilitation centers. There he continued his healing and met new friends who faced similar challenges.
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/10663044.htm
http://stores.ebay.com/MAKSYM-Variety-Store