Dan is a very articulate, intelligent, and warm person who is trapped inside an disabled body. Dan has cerebral palsy (CP) and is functionally quadriplegic. Dan resides in a nursing care facility due to his physical and economic limitations. As a result, Dan has had a challenging life.
This website is about helping Dan to enjoy his life. Dan is much happier when can be mobile. He enjoys travelling to downtown Rochester (New York) to see Red Wings baseball games and Amerks Hockey games. During the season, Dan is a fixture at these venues. He travels there by himself in his motorized wheelchair. He uses public transportation or, in the winter months, a lift service. Dan thinks nothing of negotiating dark sidewalks to catch a city bus. The effort to get on and get off the bus are considerable. He has partial use of one hand with which he controls the wheelchair joystick. In 2010, Dan's wheel chair fell into disrepair and no funds were available to fix it. This website tells how we helped Dan regain his mobility.
Dan's situation is a special case. Nursing homes usually do not have residents who are so mobile and willing and allowed to travel. Yet Dan's former nursing home provider was generous to provide him with his expensive motorized wheelchair. This was above and beyond what Medicare specifies. However, the maintenance costs associated with Dan's chair are considerable, especially given the heavy use that results from Dan getting out and about. Dan's nursing home provider (at the time) was not responsible for these costs. That's where the Friends of Dan became involved.
To those that know him well, Dan's attitude and self-determination are inspirational. He has an unbelievably difficult life yet he remains upbeat, positive and rarely complains.
Video of Dan.
A recent award-winning video was made about Dan by a friend of Dan's, Aaron Schaible. Aaron is a middle school student. The video provides a good glimpse of Dan and tells a story that needs to be told. Click here to view the video on You-Tube.
