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George and Corkie

[Originally posted September 2, 2010] Corkie called Tom (InvoTek) last night to say George suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. George enjoyed working with InvoTek and helping us test prototypes. We also enjoyed working with him and will miss our friend. He was a gentle spirit that graciously and enthusiastically gave of his time and talent.

While we were not able to implement all of the project we had planned, we were able to involve George in something that he thought was important and that required his unique gifts and insights as a person with disabilities. From that perspective -- which is in many ways the most important perspective -- we were successful. It is from our efforts with George and others in our community that the Be Extraordinary program was born. 

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Our first Be Extraordinary™ client was George. He had MS and good head control (he did not have control of his limbs). We tried using head tracking technology with George, but he didn't have much computer experience and found using a computer problematic from several perspectives.

We were fortunate because George lived 30 minutes away from InvoTek's offices. George trialed our Safe-laser technology as an access method for controlling his TV. He was very successful using it. Given that George spent nearly all of his time in bed, he wanted more control over his TV, including the ability to record programs. He wanted to turn on and off the lights in his room, and adjust the ceiling fan speed.

We were able get George a prototype of the Safe-laser System for daily use. He was able to change the channels when something lousy was on TV! ;-) He was looking forward to being able to record shows and control the lights. We were not able to implement these features before he died. Corkie and George participated in InvoTek's effort to develop new devices. Corkie is now working and volunteering at InvoTek as our Be Extraordinary Client Advocate. She is a practical nurse (she was licensed in an earlier life) and has 16 years experience as a caregiver.

Questions? Contact us.