I’m very grateful to announce that throughout this whole ordeal, we have received several grants that have helped a lot with life.
The first grant I received was from Neuroworx, without this grant and the therapists there, I would not have been able to take advantage of all the other Grants. Insurance companies only pay for 20 therapy visits and then at the end of those 20 visits I was still unable to do much at all. A Neuroworx grant allowed me to have 75 more therapy visits. Those additional 75 visits have helped me so much!! At the end of the 75 therapy visits I am much more able to transfer, balance, move, push a manual wheelchair, hand-cycle, sit-ski and Drive my Truck.
The next two grants were so that I could experience skiing. One grant was with the Trails program and the other one was with Wasatch Adaptive Sports. I was able to ski 15 times last year! The sit-ski equipment they have is too small for me and outdated but it’s still barely useable. Although skiing was only two to three hours each time it was still fun. I really appreciate all those who helped me be able to have this experience of skiing. From the people who were running the programs to my friends and family who took time out of their busy schedules to take me there, I’m indeed grateful to you!
Here is a picture of me Skiing with my two kids Ryan and Cherie:
I have also been able to do some hand cycling (think road biking) with Annette, Max, Wasatch Adaptive Sports and Trails. I would like to do much more cycling but it's getting too hot to go anytime but early morning and it's been hard to find someone who’s available to take me out in the mornings. If I had my own power assist off road hand-cycle I could meet up with my old mountain biking friends and ride with them before it gets too hot in the early morning when they ride. I am now able to drive so I can drive to where my friends are or with Wasatch Adaptive Sports or Trails are meeting as long it’s not too HOT and they will help get everything ready before and after the ride.
My body is like a cold blooded animal, and I don't sweat anymore. I have always disliked any temps above 75 degrees, but now direct sun light can overheat me at temps above 65 degrees and I become very tired and weak. One of the many challenges that I’ve had to face is accepting the fact that in order for me to do anything I have to rely on the help of others. Oh how I wish I could just take myself riding and not have to worry about taking time from other people’s busy schedules, but that is not ever going to happen. So, when people are able to make time for me I’m very grateful for their help as it allows me to experience things that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.
Here is a picture of Max and I on a ride testing out the bike bungee. The bike bungee allows Max (or other able bodied bike riders) to help me up steeper inclines:
Here are a couple other pictures of me on a road hand cycle in Bear Lake and an off-road hand cycle in Park City:
On April 22, 2017 I was able to participate in the Salt Lake Marathon thanks to the University of Utah’s Trails program. Without all of their volunteers and without my friend Max, I wouldn’t have been able to participate. The marathon was hard, but it was also fun at the same time. The marathon was 26.3 miles and I finished in 3 hours and 50 minutes and that was with the help of Max pushing me up some of the steep hills. I’m so grateful for Max and for the help that he provides to me so that I can participate in many of these sports. Reflecting upon my experience, it was really great to have all of the roads closed so that you didn’t have to worry about traffic. Because of this I was able to coast down the hills at higher speeds not worrying about cars. My favorite part of the marathon was coasting down the hills at up to 28mph.
I am currently in the process of trying to purchase a sit ski of my own and a power assist off-road hand cycle (think mountain biking). These two pieces of equipment would help make my life much more enjoyable as they would allow me to continue to participate in adaptive sports. Having my own equipment gives me the opportunity to get out more often and go at more convenient times (when my friends and family are available). When I’m borrowing the equipment I’m limited in the amount of times I can participate in the sport, I’m restricted to specific days/times, and the equipment is just too small for my body and pretty outdated.
After a lot of paperwork and prayers, I was blessed to receive a grant for $4,000 from the Kelly Brush Foundation and $3000 from the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). However, the off-road hand cycle alone costs over $13,000, which leaves me $6,000 short. My family and I are working on trying to put together a fundraiser so that we can raise the additional $6,000 I need for the power assist off-road hand cycle. It is also $7,000 for a Tempo sit ski, so in all, I would need to raise a total of $13,000 to try to purchase these two pieces of equipment. If you or anyone you know would be willing to donate please visit our fundraising website at https://www.gofundme.com/adapative-sports-equipment-for-jeff. We appreciate all the help we can get because if we don't come up with the $13,000 we will loose the grant funding!
Here is some information about both of these pieces of equipment:
The Nomad hand-cycle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4uuUcvKPts (http://sport-on-usa.com/nomad) will be available in September and is close to the Explorer III. You sit up in the Nomad and bend over in the Explorer III and that is the main difference. Paras can bend over Quads need to sit up so I'll need the Nomad. These are built in Poland and the Explorer III has been improved over the years. So the Nomad will take advantage of all those improvements learned from the Explorer III. The Nomad cost $13,000.00, but as I said above, I was blessed to have two grants to help pay for it. One from http://kellybrushfoundation.org/ for $4,000.00 and one from http://www.challengedathletes.org/ for $3,000.00. So that’s $6,000.00 short of what I need.
The Tempo Dualski (http://www.dualski.com/en/tempo-dualski-2/) is the best Sit-Ski made and its Made in France. None of the Programs in Utah have one. I am hopeful that I can to do all I can to get one as it will fit my specific needs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNj4EEt8IAY
For the Tempo and all the polls with skis on them and other things needed to use the Tempo it costs $7,000.00. I don’t have any grants to help offset the costs like I have on the Nomad hand cycle However, it needs to be ordered before the end of August to take advantage of the of season discount, and to receive it before the ski season.
The last grant that I received has been by far the biggest grant and it will help make a huge impact on my life. I received an independent living grant for $32,000 from the Utah State Office Rehabilitation. This grant was used to adapt my truck so that I can drive it and eventually will be able to get in and out of it by myself. I’m always so amazed that the cost of things to assist the disabled is always so outrageously priced. Without this grant we would have never been able to have this done. This past year the Northern Utah Mustang Owner Association (NUMOA - https://numoa.com/) raised $6,000 and donated this money on my behalf so that we could add a lowering seat to the passenger side of my truck so on long trips or at other times I can also be a passenger and not just a driver. I’m so grateful for NUMOA and their generosity towards me.
When I was looking into the possibility of getting this grant for my truck everyone told me that it was impossible and there was no way that I would be able to get one. I tried anyway and we filled out the forms and did everything exactly the way it should be done and I ended up being one of the grant recipients. God truly had his hand in making this possible. Having my truck modified so that I can drive it will be a great blessing to me and my family as I will be able to be more independent.
We applied for the truck grant a year ago and then found out that we received the grant in September so it's taking a long time, a whole year, to go from applying for the grant to the truck being finished.
Performance Mobility (http://www.performancemobility.com/locations/utah/) did their best to win the bid so that they could convert the truck for me. It's been really nice working with Performance Mobility; I'm grateful for all their efforts and for them working out each little detail for a perfectionist like me. We finally received the finished truck at the end of May. At first there were a few hiccups and adjustments that needed to be made, but after they adjusted things to fit me properly, driving the truck has been pretty easy.
It’s taking me a lot of practice in order to learn how to get in and out of the truck. Getting in the truck has been going well. The very first time I tried it went great, but I haven’t been as successful most of the time.
Here are some pictures of me and the modified truck:
After I'm able to get in and out of the truck on my own without someone "standing guard", my ultimate goal in all of this is that I am hoping I will be able to go to work for a few hours every day. I am also hoping that I will be able to be more involved at the shop. I’m so grateful for Ron and his efforts to continue to do his best to keep the shop running. If I can be there a few hours a day hopefully we will be able to hire someone else to work with Ron so that the amount of business can be increased to where it was before I was injured.
One thing that has been particularly difficult for me lately is that I miss associating with some of my friends and family. When my accident first happened I received such great support from family and friends and I was able to visit with a lot of them, but as time has passed the visits and help have decreased. It’s frustrating, but the reality of things is that I need the same help and support that I did when I first came home from the hospital. I realize that people are busy and we all go about our lives living the mundane of everyday life, but if you ever get a spare moment to visit or give me a hand it would really be appreciated!
