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Sometimes it Feels Like too Much
I met an unusual young man last week. I went to his house to evaluate whether we could provide an accessible computer system for him. His home is clean, his family is financially poor, and the rental house they live in needs a lot of work. The young man doesn’t have a good education. To make matters worse, he was shot while riding in a car and is now a quadriplegic. As we talked about his goals he told me that he wants to sell used cars. He likes doing this and has experience at it. One of his neighbors taught him the strategy he uses for selecting cars, however this neighbor was killed in a separate shooting a few months ago. As we talked and goofed around, I found it very easy to like this young man and his family. They have had a hard life, but they are good people.
Contributing
As I’ve grown up, I’ve felt this growing urge to contribute, to be an adult, to be responsible. I finished college and completed my Master’s degree and hit the terrifying world of job searching. As a disabled candidate, the market is somewhat limited.
First Words
We've been working with a new family. Billy had a brain-stem stroke back in December of 2010. His disability is so severe that none of our technology worked for him. I talked with our clinical experts and there doesn't appear to be any equipment available – anywhere – to help him. This guy is hard. Really hard.
The Lost Sheep’s Mom
Last weekend I met several people at the Abilities Expo in Houston that were exceptional. I met a rocket scientist who works 20 hours a week and uses his eyes to slowly type out messages because he can’t talk. I met Nikki who was so excited to find a way to type into a computer more easily. But the person who touched me most deeply was a mom.
Learning to be Strong
I’ve been watching Larry Bell’s Be Extraordinary video. In it he makes the comment “I’ve learned that I am stronger than I want to be”. That statement has been haunting me.
COMMUNITY
There is an old African proverb, to the effect, “it takes a village to raise a child.” Children are considered a blessing from God for the whole community. The same idea comes through in Ecclesiastes 4:10 "For if they fall, one will lift up the other…".
The Definition of Success
I don’t know about you, but I always feel like we could do better. Oh, I am proud of the people I work with and the work we are doing. We’re a small group and we accomplish a lot. But between producing the products we have, designing new products, our research, and Be Extraordinary, well, it just seems like there is always room for improvement.
Ready For Anything
A lot has happened during the past few weeks. I had the opportunity to visit Khiry Neal twice at Children’s hospital in Little Rock. He is doing well with our AccuPoint head tracking system. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me – and him! I also met Khiry’s grandmother. She has a presence that is extraordinary. When I told her that we wanted Khiry to become part of our Be Extraordinary program and that I promised to help as much as we possibly can, she looked straight into my eyes. I had the sense that she was searching me, trying to figure out if I was one of those people that makes promises lightly and then doesn’t follow through.
My Life
I think in my life I have had some ups and downs – I want to say more downs than ups. But since my accident I have been pretty fortunate for the things that I do have. I'm not real sure what I'm going to do with my life, or what's left of it, but I do know that I'm going to live it to the fullest. Whether that means a good job with lots of money, traveling, or just hanging out with friends and gaming.
An Extraordinary Hope
Diane and I started InvoTek 22 years ago because it seemed like there was a need for engineers to help people with disabilities. From the beginning, our goal has been to get technology to the people that need it. For the first several years, our challenge was to find funding for developing new devices. We spent years – literally – learning how to get proposals funded and how to compete for grants. As we experienced some success, we tried everything we could think of to get the technology developed through grants to the people we wanted to help. We went to tradeshows, worked through distributors, and partnered with other companies. After years of trying, it became clear that funding was our main obstacle. The technologies that people needed to be more independent do not have consistent funding streams and insurance usually will not pay for them.
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