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https://www.gofundme.com/home-reno-after-spinal-cord-injury?viewupdates…
John Maguire Status Update 16 April 2017
Hi. It's been awhile since you got an update so I figured I would put something together here in Englewood, Colorado, this Easter evening.
John is at Craig and pretty much independent in his care now. He is a star in PT and spends many hours grinding up and down the hills near Craig now that the nice weather is here. He has mastered the chair wheelie and can hold it for pretty serious distances. His second surgery has put his vertebrae into alignment and decompressed the spinal cord pinch that they found during his Craig admittance imaging. The second surgeon also found an un-repaired tear to the chord sack which he repaired. His Craig doctors tell us that all that can be done has been done. It is now up to his body to see if it can find a way to get the nerve signals past the damaged spinal cord injury. The doctors don’t give odds on this sort of thing. There is always some chance of improvement and it could take months to years At this point he still requires the chair; but he will be independent, in spite of that fact.
Today we fitted the Corolla with the hand controls that he bought off Amazon. After a little practice in Boulder, near his condo, he was able to drive it the hour back to Craig. Probably the first adaptive driver to go through a Dunkin Donuts drive through within 15 minutes of first trying hand controls.
We also now have John’s Craig discharge date, which will be May 6. About a week ago he decided it was time to pull the trigger on adaptive home renovations at his Boulder townhouse. I came out here last Wednesday to coordinate the contractors and his expansive volunteer friend network who have joined the effort to get John back to the Boulder scene, on independent terms. Much of the money from his Go Fund Me has been committed on this effort. I wanted to here give you a sense of what your donations to the fund are buying.
John will be able to access his second story, his first floor, and his wood shop in the basement thanks to a $17,000 custom chair lift system that will follows the inside wall of his stairwell. The image attached below is not of John’s house, but shows the equipment. His system could take till May 10 to be fabricated and installed.
We have a $1400 aluminum modular ramp system that will allow him to cruise straight in his front door without a lot of hassle. His ramp is being delivered tomorrow and consists of a single 8 foot ramp section leading to a 4 x 4 foot platform. While at rest on the platform, which will be under is front door weather overhang, he will be able to put down his groceries and unlock his front door. Something we all take for granted now requires a lot of planning, adaptation, and money.
Tim Shangraw and Ross spent much of Saturday building a wooden transition platform that will bridge to a vertical platform lift that will allow John to lower himself the 8 inches to his garage floor. The $7000 vertical platform lift came via this Go Fund Me effort. Attached is an actual photo taken in his garage yesterday. The lift is positioned in front of the Shangraw-Ross transition platform. The lift should be operational tomorrow or Wednesday.
The final obstacles to John living independently are the master bathroom attached to his bedroom and his downstairs half-bath. Here we required highly skilled contractors that would be willing to donate time if we provided the parts. You would think that these people would be hard to find; but in fact they contacted John over a month ago with the offer to help while he was still struggling with the aftermath of his accident. They are all part of the local motocross group that John enjoyed riding with. This week on arrival I got Owen’s phone from John and called him not knowing what to expect. Owen met me at John’s condo within two days and agree to begin demolition on Tuesday of this week. Dustin contacted me by email that same day and told me that he and other carpenters in the motocross group would be joining Owen too. They will remove the vanity from his master bath and take out the narrow inward-swinging door and replace it with a wide pocket door that will slide into the wall. This will enable John to roll in and navigate his master bath. The downstairs half-bath will also get a wide pocket door and the motocross craftsmen will expand the bathroom by absorbing an adjacent coat closet. These changes will give John access to his downstairs half-bath. The Go Fund Me effort will fund the materials needed by the motocross crew.
John’s friends Janet Shangraw and Frankie Benning have been everywhere in John’s house, doing everything. Tomorrow Frankie will be mudding around the new ac outlet that Ted installed Saturday at the top stair landing. This new outlet has been optimally positioned to power the before mentioned 3 story Stair-lift system. This week Ted will also remotely locate the controls for John’s washer dryer so that John can handily access the controls without gymnastics. Janet and Frankie will also pick out John’s new lightweight kitchen table and chairs that will be funded by the Go fund Me.
About $3000-$4000 from the fundraiser have gone to meeting some of his out-of pocket medical bills.
$1,700 will go to fund the premium above insurance cost of John’s new custom Titanium wheelchair. I never thought much about the weight of a wheelchair until watching John grind up hills or struggle to store the folded wheelchair in the passenger seat after transferring himself into the driver’s seat from the chair.
When all of the above efforts, and others not here listed, are completed the entire house will be professionally cleaned from top to bottom. Again, funded by this Go Fund Me effort.
We have learned that there is a steep cost to independent living after you lose your ability to walk. Your generous donations to John’s fund are helping John overcome the financial barriers. You are enabling the simple sequence of getting up, taking a shower and going downstairs for breakfast. You are allowing him to roll out his front door, get in his car and pull his wheelchair in after him. You have enabled the hand control adaptations that will make that stop at the Dunkin Donuts drive thru effortless for him. Thank you for your support to get John independent by Independence Day!
Im absolutely gutted for you bud. Keep up the good fight sir, and sounds like you have a lot of great people in your circle! Which just from reading this thread alone and gathering what kind of person you are, is not surprising at all. I'll help to the best of my ability, but more imprtantly, thanks for all the inspiration and letting us follow your Journey.
-Sean
Appreciate that. . . .
Dunno if he still reads here or not..
This has been an extremely difficult road for me, my girlfriend and my family. I've been struggling with depression in addition to the pain and difficulties associated with this condition. We are all doing our best though and trying to make the most out of this life. Things have improved since the lowest point though, so I'm hopeful they will continue to.
Yesterday I went to the powersports store near Craig Hospital and checked out the Polaris RZR and some quads. I'm hoping there will be some money left over after the house mods are finished to be able to help with buying a toy to get me back into the outdoors and having some fun. Our first priority is just being able to have an accessible living situation but with any luck there will be a little left over. These donations mean so much to me. Also if anyone is interested in selling (or donating) a used RZR please let me know as well. Also if anyone has any industry contacts or knows someone who might be willing to help a guy out by selling one at cost, please reach out.
Tonight a friend is bringing the motovan down to Craig so that in my last week here I can work with the PT folks to see if its still useful as a camping rig. I'm hoping we can make it work but I'm not sure it makes sense. If it turns out that it just isn't practical I'm going to have to sell it, so let me know if there is any interest. The loan that is left on it is around $15k. I'd like to get a little more for so much of what I have put into it, both time and money (focal stereo, power washer, etc) but we'll just see. If there is anyone who is interested please feel free to email me john.aron.maguire at gmail or call me 508.320.1767.
You all have seen an interesting chapter of my life. This has been one of my most proud projects and happiest times ever, preparing for and going on a vacation of a lifetime to pursue my passion... and have also watched in real time as my life as I know it ended and i entered the worst period of depression I've ever experienced. I definitely didn't see this coming. Be careful out there. You really don't want to end up in my situation.
I've been on the fence for awhile about a van and your thread made me pull the trigger.
Really chilling story but just as I was inspired reading about your van build, Im more so inspired by your acceptance and positivity.
Wishing you well brother!
Best of luck John! If you ever need to camp out in Socal, hit me up, I got parking!
https://www.gofundme.com/home-reno-after-spinal-cord-injury?r=94853
https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/6792923059.html
Please let me know if you are interested
508 320 1767
I'm pretty new here and just saw this thread. Just wanted to say your van build is super cool and I hope someone buys it from you and enjoys using what your talent created. And good luck to you.
Pit Row
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