My son is taking driver's training lessons right now. This would not be
anything exciting for most mother's however, my son is thirty-five, got
his driver's license when he was 16, had a car accident
in 2005 which resulted in paraplegia and is learning to drive again
with hand controls! I am so excited, worried and proud of his desire to
get right back into life and have his freedom back and participate in
life more fully.
This no easy featm believe me. I was asked to
park a car for a friend who drives with hand controls and got in and
much to my chagrin had no idea how to operate a car with hand controls,
the joke was really on me that day; car girl cannot drive car due to
hand controls installed! LOL
He is also shopping for a new vehicle and is looking
over all the manufactures mobilility programs that help hand or other
special need control drivers off-set the high costs of driving
customized vehicles that enable the freedom of driving. Talk about
primp my ride and aftermarket accessories that are expensive , whoa!
Check some of them out here.
My son made a New Year's Resolution is to do the "3 S's" this year:
Surf, Scuba and Ski in 2008. He went skiing last week and had a blast,
although I was nervous at the prospect, he had help from a program
designed for this type of ski experience and as a former avid
snowboarder he took to it in no time! Woo Hoo! This photo really made
me smile!
The
work I do with UnitedSpinal.org and Motorability Island in Second Life
is all about providing a better quality of life and life enriching
experiences for persons with spinal cord injuries or diseases. My
reward is watching my own son begin to enjoy a more fun, interesting
and exciting life. Maybe too exciting for mom here but he was always
an A-Type into bungee jumping ( yikees) , white water boating and all
those edgy sports and activities and that will never change.
Check out our place in Second Life on Motorability Island and
experience a virtual test drives of car culture and other fun
activities you or a loved one may want to try in real life, come on it
will be fun!
Motorability Island in SecondLife is a vast, 7 sim complex designed specifically to promote United Spinal Association
in SL, via the Education Center and other builds dotted around the
Island. We, along with the United Spinal Motorsports Program are
complete petrolheads, so you'll also find loads of really cool stuff to
do with a car around here too. We've got 2 full oval circuits, a full
inter-sim road system, car themed nightclub with live DJs, go-kart
racing, car dealerships, scooter shack and the rather cool AskPatty.com
center too, which offers automotive advice for women, from some of the
top women in the US automotive industry. There are also several other
exciting builds planned, such as an education center for wannabe
SecondLife vehicle designers, a drag strip and a drift track.
Visit us in Second Life here SLURL to location.
Jody DeVere
President
www.askpatty.com
www.carblabber.com
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