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Hi, Welcome to my little home on the Internet. I'm 32 years old and I have a spinal cord injury; I sustained my injury while serving in the Air Force. I was in the Air Force for nearly three years when on duty July 1993, I fell from a tree and broke my neck at the C5/C6 level. The base hospital flew me to the University of Nebraska where I stayed about a month in intensive care. During my stay, the doctor fused my neck back together and I had to wear a halo for three months. Oh yea, this doctor is also who informed me I would be paralyzed and would have to learn to live life as a Quadriplegic. After this month, I went to the University of Kansas hospital and did my inpatient rehab until the end of December 1993. During this time, I was medically discharged from the military with a service connected disability. That was a bummer, I had just begun my childhood dream of serving my country and it came to a tragic end. I continued to live in Kansas City {Go Chiefs} until November 1996, my ex-wife asked me for a divorce at this time. My loving parents let me build on to their house in Mississippi, so I moved in with them and continue to live there this day. I have a service dog named Capi. I got her from a place in Kansas that trains dogs for people with disabilities, named Cares. She picks up items that I drop and gives it back to me. She was also trained to turn on/off lights, open/close doors/ and to pull my wheelchair, if needed. But above all, she's my best friend.
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So, What do I do for fun? I fish, hunt, ride my 4 - wheeler, cut and bush hog grass, and now I do work with my tractor. I'm able to do all of the above due to one person, my DAD. He designed and made my adaptive equipment that allows me to hunt and fish. He didn't design my 4 wheeler, but he should have , because he had to strip it down to the frame and rebuild it. I have a bush hog that I pull behind it, and a 60 inch finishing cut mower that attachés to the front of my 4 wheeler. The adaptive equipment that allows me to drive my Quad Trak was 100% designed and built by my dad. The idea of having a wheelchair carrying box hooked up to the 3 point hitch was an idea I got from looking at the tractor Herb Wilcut has at Mississippi State.
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I'm a member of PVA {Paralyzed Veterans of America}, DAV {Disabled American Veteran}, AAPD {American Association People With Disabilities, and NSCIA {National Spinal Cord Injury Association}.
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The following people deserve a Big Thank You, for helping my Quad-Trak become a reality. My dad, of course, for designing and building it; Anel Corporation for donating the Metal; and Herb Wilcut {MS. Agrability} for his time and expertise.
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