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"Independence through Technology"
It is the year 2000. I’m fifty-seven years old,
recently retired from a full-time teaching position at a community
college, and looking forward to devoting more time and energy to playing and
performing music.
Fast forward to Spring 2001. “Top of the world, Ma!” I’m working and recording with three bands. I’m doing session work on the side and I’m running a resophonic guitar workshop website. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was amassing material for a resophonic guitar book. In short, I’m living my dream.
But something was wrong. I was having balance problems. I was stumbling frequently and took some nasty falls. I felt unusually fatigued. Often when returning home from a job or rehearsal I was too tired to get out of the car and walk inside.
Three months later I was given the explanation for the changes I was experiencing. The diagnosis was ALS. My version is Lower Motor Neuron Disease. I was told the paralysis would begin in my feet and work its way upward until I became totally and completely paralyzed. I would be dead within three to five years.
And so began my journey. I faced many challenges. With each loss of function I was forced to adapt. And adapt I did. With little time to mourn my losses, I turned my face to the wind and never looked back. The constant through it all has been my computer. Through the computer I stay connected with friends and family, manage my personal affairs, read books, and communicate with the people around me. The computer made possible the completion of my book and now, the development of Computers4Quads.
Tom Nelson (2006)
Update (2008)
My latest project is to learn computer graphics. To view my drawings and cartoons visit