Max
12-20-2002, 01:10 PM
Raffle pays off for man paralyzed in fall
Dec 19 2002 12:00AM By
By TARMO HANNULA
OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN
Rebuilding your life after you've been paralyzed from the neck, down is an amazing task. And it's not cheap. Furthermore, it taps heavily into your family and friends for their unwavering support. Michael Lucas, an area quadriplegic can attest to that and so will his family.
A good example of the kind of support it takes from family, friends and the community was a recent fund-raising raffle put on by the folks at Young's Tire Service in Pajaro.
With the temptation of winning a full set of installed and balanced Michelin tires for your vehicle, Pete and Diane Young managed to raise about $2,400 in a raffle to help rebuild Lucas's life.
The goal of the raffle - which is one of many such fund-raisers - is to link Lucas up with the highly advanced StimMaster Ergometer Program, an innovative program for persons with spinal cord injuries. The program costs about $18,000. The therapeutic program uses transcutaneous electrical current to initiate contractions in paralyzed extremities.
"Basically, it's like an exercise bicycle with electrodes that get hooked up to my legs; the electrodes shock my muscles to actually pedal the bike," Lucas said. "It is the same device that Christopher Reeves uses. He had a similar injury to his spinal cord."
Reeves is the famed actor who played Superman in a series of major motion pictures. He suffered an injury to his spine when he fell from a horse.
The youngest of seven children, Lucas was born in Santa Cruz and graduated from Aptos High is 1986. He worked at Young's Tires for about seven years and then moved on to work for GraniteRock as its primary tire service person.
In March of 1997 Lucas fell from the Aptos Creek Bridge, severely injuring his spinal cord. The accident left him paralyzed. He is now reliant on his parents, Joe and Sylvia Lucas, as primary caregivers. Lucas said he uses a "chin drive" wheel chair to get around. Like Reeves, he also breathes with the aid of a ventilator. His family has a van with a motor-lift to transport Lucas in his wheel chair.
"Michael is a tremendous person and I think anyone that has worked around him knows this," said Diane Young. "We are just pleased to be able to help him and to help his family out. Mike is just an inspiration for all of us."
Lucas said that groups like The Knights of Columbus and the Resurrection Catholic Church have helped defray some of his costs and pitched in for the StimMaster through direct donations or fund-raisers.
"The Knights of Columbus have a fund-raising event each year on St. Patrick's Day for me; they have been wonderful," Lucas said.
"Our lives have changed drastically since Michael's accident," Sylvia Lucas said. "As you can imagine. There is a tremendous amount of work to do every day. Just getting out of the house for a simple errand is no longer simple. We are grateful for any support, such as the raffle Young's Tires put on. These people have been very supportive."
If individuals or organizations are interested in donating to Michael Lucas's StimMaster program, please call Young's Tires at 728-4282.
©Register-Pajaronian 2002
http://www.zwire.com/news/newsstory.cfm?newsid=6432356&title=%3Cp%3ERaffle%20pays%20off%20for%20man%20par alyzed%20in%20fall&BRD=1197&PAG=461&CATNAME=Top%20Stories&CATEGORYID=410
Dec 19 2002 12:00AM By
By TARMO HANNULA
OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN
Rebuilding your life after you've been paralyzed from the neck, down is an amazing task. And it's not cheap. Furthermore, it taps heavily into your family and friends for their unwavering support. Michael Lucas, an area quadriplegic can attest to that and so will his family.
A good example of the kind of support it takes from family, friends and the community was a recent fund-raising raffle put on by the folks at Young's Tire Service in Pajaro.
With the temptation of winning a full set of installed and balanced Michelin tires for your vehicle, Pete and Diane Young managed to raise about $2,400 in a raffle to help rebuild Lucas's life.
The goal of the raffle - which is one of many such fund-raisers - is to link Lucas up with the highly advanced StimMaster Ergometer Program, an innovative program for persons with spinal cord injuries. The program costs about $18,000. The therapeutic program uses transcutaneous electrical current to initiate contractions in paralyzed extremities.
"Basically, it's like an exercise bicycle with electrodes that get hooked up to my legs; the electrodes shock my muscles to actually pedal the bike," Lucas said. "It is the same device that Christopher Reeves uses. He had a similar injury to his spinal cord."
Reeves is the famed actor who played Superman in a series of major motion pictures. He suffered an injury to his spine when he fell from a horse.
The youngest of seven children, Lucas was born in Santa Cruz and graduated from Aptos High is 1986. He worked at Young's Tires for about seven years and then moved on to work for GraniteRock as its primary tire service person.
In March of 1997 Lucas fell from the Aptos Creek Bridge, severely injuring his spinal cord. The accident left him paralyzed. He is now reliant on his parents, Joe and Sylvia Lucas, as primary caregivers. Lucas said he uses a "chin drive" wheel chair to get around. Like Reeves, he also breathes with the aid of a ventilator. His family has a van with a motor-lift to transport Lucas in his wheel chair.
"Michael is a tremendous person and I think anyone that has worked around him knows this," said Diane Young. "We are just pleased to be able to help him and to help his family out. Mike is just an inspiration for all of us."
Lucas said that groups like The Knights of Columbus and the Resurrection Catholic Church have helped defray some of his costs and pitched in for the StimMaster through direct donations or fund-raisers.
"The Knights of Columbus have a fund-raising event each year on St. Patrick's Day for me; they have been wonderful," Lucas said.
"Our lives have changed drastically since Michael's accident," Sylvia Lucas said. "As you can imagine. There is a tremendous amount of work to do every day. Just getting out of the house for a simple errand is no longer simple. We are grateful for any support, such as the raffle Young's Tires put on. These people have been very supportive."
If individuals or organizations are interested in donating to Michael Lucas's StimMaster program, please call Young's Tires at 728-4282.
©Register-Pajaronian 2002
http://www.zwire.com/news/newsstory.cfm?newsid=6432356&title=%3Cp%3ERaffle%20pays%20off%20for%20man%20par alyzed%20in%20fall&BRD=1197&PAG=461&CATNAME=Top%20Stories&CATEGORYID=410