gary,
all i can say is that i am very happy for you. you have lots of "hang in
there" and it finally paid off.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gary Peterson [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Saturday, January 09, 1999 1:21 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Happy New Year!!
>
> Happy New Year to each and everyone of you, and may 1999  be the
> best ever for all of you as we enter the home stretch towards the
> century mark!!
>
> Out of all the Christmas presents I received this year, there is
> one that stands out that will never be replaced or exchanged at
> any cost.  I got my life back!!
>
> For those of you who know me well, you may remember that it was
> just 6 years ago right around this time, that I was seriously
> burned in a fire.  I was hospitalized for almost a year, and more
> then once I  almost died.
>
> Up until this last year, I thought I would never be able to
> regain the independence I so enjoyed up to the time of my
> accident.  Do to my injuries, I lost the bulk of use in both my
> arms, and the complete loss of both my legs below the knee do to
> amputation.  Despite many hours of rehab and exercise, it was
> next to impossible for me to wheel myself around with the speed
> and accuracy  that I use to.  So then I had to come up with a
> plan to convince my insurance carrier to pay for an electric
> wheelchair.  But deep down I just knew being blind &C-P wouldn't
> land me a new chair anytime soon if at all.  But thanks to the
> help and encouragement of allot of great people, in the end it
> all worked out, and I couldn't have ended up with a better
> chair!!
>
> The other part of this that means so much to me, is that as of
> this last November,  my Mother Jean and I officially became
> Mother and Son again.  She's lived here with me pretty much
> nonstop 24 hours a day 7 days a week for the last 4 years.  As
> some of you know, before I got hurt I had lived on my own for
> over 20 years.  So to have to go back to depending  totally on my
> Mom again for everything after so long was quite an abrupt change
> for both of us  to say the least.    There were lots of times
> when it was very hard for me to see her as my Mother when she was
> also my primary care-giver so much of the time.
>
> But thanks to the Regional Center Of California, Mom and I are
> both back in our own homes and very happy!!  The Regional Center
> provides many kinds of programs and services for those who are
> developmentally disabled.  I know some of you may have questions
> as to just what that term means.  It applies in my case because
> both my C-P and blindness happened at birth.  But there's also a
> much broader definition of the term.   I'm going to respectfully
> defer to others here who will be able to put it in a much better
> context then I can.
>
> so I am now in a supported living program.  The way it works is
> that the Regional Center came in and evaluated  my needs.  Unlike
> the majority of county or state service delivery programs in the
> country who's only concern is that their consumers have just
> enough support to enable them to get up, dressed, and fed, and
> then go back to bed at night, they assist me in being able to
> live a life outside my home as well.  They help me with
> activities such as swimming, being able to travel via mass
> transit,  being able to visit friends etc.  For those of you who
> live here in California and Wisconsin (Someone please correct me
> if I'm  wrong, but I believe Wisconsin still has a supported
> living program do they not?)  and are consumers of Regional
> Center, I'm sure you know just what I'm talking about.
>
> For those of you on the C-P list, I think back to the many
> discussions we've had over the issue of what we would do once our
> parents and or other family members could no longer be there for
> us.  I am sooo very thankful that I'm in a position where that
> issue is no longer the priority that it used to be.  I really
> hope the Feds will continue to take money from institutions that
> only continue to warehouse and stunt the growth of all to large
> numbers of us and begin to set up more supported living models
> and other independent living alternatives.  We need to utilize
> forums such as On  A Roll Radio and The Ragged Edge, to help
> assure all of us who are disabled have the opportunity to get
> into some kind of supported or other independent living program.
>
> For those of you who feel you have nowhere to turn, it's so
> important that you do not give up.  I almost did.
>
> If you find your self at home right now with ageing parents, or
> you just want to find a easy way out of your house and to that
> restaurant or coffee shop down the street start by talking to the
> other disabled folks around you.  You might be surprised at what
> can happen when even just 2 people unite  them sells around an
> issue.  I know all to well how hard it is to motivate your self
> when you wake up in the morning and all you can feel are the
> walls caving in around you.  But my experience has shown me that
> particularly during those times, it's more important then ever to
> not give in to that feeling.  Just get together with your friends
> and decide to meet with each other on a weekly basis.  If for
> some reason you just aren't able to meet as a group, then talk to
> each other on the phone.  Even when you feel something is
> hopeless, you'll be amazed at how much better you feel just by
> talking to one another!!  When I was laying in the hospital so
> badly burned and in so much pane, I thought there was no way I
> would ever be sitting  in front of this keyboard writing to any
> of you ever again.  As glad as I was to finally be released from
> the hospital after all those months, my biggest fear was that I
> would never be able to live independent of my Mother ever again.
> I could sit here for the next hour naming all the people that
> helped me get back to where I am today.  Instead, let me just
> thank all of you who have helped me to be a whole person again.
> You're all so cool and I couldn't have done it with out you!!!
>
> Before I sign off, I want to say a word of praise to all my
> support staff.  Thanks to Howard, Amy, K.C., Heather Rebecca, and
> Jennifer.  As a team, we kick but!!  And oh yeah, thanks Mom.  I
> know there were times during the last 6 or more years we almost
> killed each other but in the end I think we both grew a hell of
> allot.  I love ya!!!
>
> So Happy New Year to all!!-Gary