When I was in high school the Vietnam War was in full swing and many friends either signed up to serve our country or were drafted. Bruce, a good friend, signed up for the marines and was stationed in California. He was trained as an air traffic controller. After the war ended he had a lot of free time on his hands so we decided to visit. Bruce was always a very active guy. In high school he was a runner and it wasn’t unusual for him to run from his home on the east side of Toledo to my house on the south end. When visiting Bruce in California we visited many of the state and national parks in the area. Bruce always took his one year old daughter with him no matter how high we were going to climb. We had a lot of fun that visit hiking and exploring the area.
When Bruce’s tour of duty ended he came back to the Toledo area and planned on continuing his career as an air traffic controller. One hot summer day Bruce and four of his friends decided to go fishing in Lake Erie. They fished all day in the scorching hot sun and decided to go for a swim before coming in. Three of the guys jumped in and Bruce was to follow. Bruce dove in and hit a sand bar which broke his neck. His life was changed forever.
Bruce was 22 years old on that day and his life would never be the same. Technically he was paralyzed from the neck down. However he could breathe without a ventilator and he had some limited movement of his arms. He could move them forward about eight inches and backward about six inches. He could not bring his arms up over his head. He couldn’t move his hands or fingers, but could cock his wrists enough to hold a glass. Even with his very limited ability, Bruce has lived the past 20 years on his own. He has driven across America on several occasions in a modified van - alone. To this day Bruce lives alone in San Diego, California and is still a very active man. How is this possible? Yes, he does have people come in to help him with his personal need such as toilet, showering and such. But he is active and mobile. Assistive technology has improved the quality of life for millions of people with various issues. Your project this week is to research assistive technology and how these advances improve the quality of life for millions. Bruce’s story is just one of millions. Do you know anyone with special needs? Share your thoughts.
I don't know anyone with special needs, maybe my grandparents, but alot of elders have problems like knee problems and such. It doesn't really change their life. They just can't walk around as much, or move things around.Besides grandparents i don't know any people like that. J.Roberts
ReplyDeleteI don't know anyone with "special needs" personally, but your story is very interesting and I will look into it.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't know anyone with special needs. I think it's extremely sad what had happened to Bruce, but it makes me happy that he still is very active and living life to the fullest.
ReplyDeleteAGrindstaff.
No, I don't know anyone with special needs lke that. But that's like cool if he can still move around and do stuff by himself.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anyone with special needs, but i do know that this story is very touching, and im looking foward to work on this story.
ReplyDeleteI do not know any one with special needs. I think it would be very cool to know some one with special needs though. You could learn how there life, that may seem different from ours, is about the same. They may have to try harder and do other things to accomplish the same goals, but they can do it.
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not know anyone of this special need. If I knew anyone of this I would understand this more. This is a scary and horrifying thing to live with. I know that its very difficult to go from always being active to not being able to at all.
ReplyDeleteNo I don't know anyone with special needs, atleast anymore my mom use to take care of this kid with cerebral palsy and he spent most of his life in a wheel chair im not sure thats all he had but i didn't really get to know him for he passed away.
ReplyDeleteI do not know anyone with special needs. But my father told me this story about a guy who dove in Lake Erie and broke his neck. There are many people with special needs and I think that sometimes maybe people who don't have special needs, take it for granted.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a remarkable story, to think that he could still live his life the way he wanted after being paralyzed. It’s great that he can still keep his independence even after the accident. However I don’t know anyone who has special needs.
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ReplyDeleteI actually do know someone with special needs and he is very close to me. My 8 year old brother is currently paralyzed on the left half of his body do to a surgery he had over the summer. My brother is learning to walk but he needs the help of a brace to keep his leg straight when he walks. Over long distances he has to use a wheel chair. Bruce has an amazing story of his comeback and just shows how far medical advances have come since the past.
ReplyDeleteyes. My great grandfather. right now the doctors are dealing with him until they said that they were literaly going to let him die. they said we cant do anything to him right now so while he needs help staying alive. So, my mom tells me that the doctors are NOT going to do any thing if he has a heart attack. they are not going to sit back and watch him die. so yeah some "improvement" in the American Red Cross... and i thought that doctors SHOULD be keeping people alive.
ReplyDeleteWhen my Great Grandma was alive she had to have assistive care. She lived in a nursing home in Adrian, and my family would go and visit any time we could. I was only 10 when she died but I saw her often. And when I went I was always amazed by the machines that where there that could help with everything the older people needed in order to live.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on this story is that it's amazing he lived after breaking his neck, and that even though he is paralyzed he still continues to be as active as he can.
I do not know anyone with special needs but i know there are many people who have it and it is a very serious thing. Many people are in wheelchairs and cannot preform simple tasks that we can. Justin Shafer
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not know anybody that has special needs. I think that it is incredible and amazing that he is still active and can do some functions on his own.
ReplyDeleteNo, i do not know anyone who has special needs, but this story is very touching and i am glad that Bruce can live on his own and still fulfill his needs, dreams, and ambitions.
ReplyDeleteI do know someone with special needs he is my moms best friends nephew. He can walk and talk just like everyone else but does have difficultys with other things. He got it all in a car accident when he was young. I think that it would be challenging.
ReplyDeleteAssistive technology makes it possible for the millions of disabled people to do things they could not normally do on their own. I personally don't know anyone with a disability or special need but I know that it gives them some form of independence and different kinds of technologies will continue to be developed for these people.
ReplyDeleteCharis Robinson
No, I do not know anyone that does have special needs, but I think it's truely amazing that Bruce can still do what he loves with just a little help, but otherwise he is on his own. I think it would be pretty awesome to know someone with special needs so then you can learn more about the need its self and then you can learn how to help that person so they can live their lives as normally as possible.
ReplyDeleteno i dont know anyone with special needs. my grandparents and most elderly people i know have knee and back problems, but becides that i dont know anyone with special needs.
ReplyDeleteI do know of a kid named jason reidner who was in my gyme class. We took care of him. He improved in phys ed.
ReplyDeleteSo many new advances in technology have allowed people with special needs and disabilities to be able to function easier. Some of the following are examples of assisted technology advances:
ReplyDelete• Wands and sticks
• Touch screens
• Reading tools and programs
• Talking and word processors
I really like hearing stories when certain people have a serious injury and they continue thinking positive and trying to live a close-to normal life which causes them to be an inspiration to others. My family and I have close friends who have a child with special needs and even though it changed the family’s life forever they adapted to the change. This family has been an inspiration to many because of their actions and how they live their lives.
T. Fraley
Advances in technology have greatly improved the life of my cousin Nick. He was born legally deaf, although he did have partial hearing in his left ear. Upon further investigation by the pediatric doctors, they saw that his left ear looked almost like the ear lobe was folded in and closed. Since he was born in 2002, he has undergone countless surgeries, many of which his family has had to travel to Atlanta to have completed. Currently, there are no surgeries planned in the future, and Nick does have hearing with the help from a special hearing aid. This new hearing aid, called an Oticon Safari, helps him to hear better in his right ear (he has partial hearing loss also in his right ear). With Nick only being 8, he and his parents have struggled with finding the right hearing aid for him. He is very active (he plays baseball and basketball and sometimes soccer,) and doesn't want to look different from other kids. The Oticon Safari hearing aid is great for Nick because they were able to order him a blue one (his favorite color) but is still small and comfortable enough to allow him to be a normal active boy! J. Weiss
ReplyDeleteI do not know anybody with special needs. I think this story is remarkable, how Bruce continues to think positive, and keep an open mind to all the possibilities. Just because hes handicapped doesn't mean he's confined to his house, he can still get out there and live his life, he just needs a little more assistance than he did before.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many new advances in technology that allow people with special needs to do things that they can't normally do.
MJeffries
I dnt know anybody with special needs. i think this is a great story tho just because he is handicapped doesnt mean hes diffrent
ReplyDeleteMy oldest son was born deaf. There were many technologies that have helped in over the years. Hearing aid gives him the ability to hear vowel sounds a,e,i,o,u - that's it. Doesn't sound like much but it gives him enough that with special training he was able to learn how to speak. New technology like texting on your cell phone has made his live much easier.
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