Brian Denny's Track Chair

Here is my friend's story..

Hello, everyone! My name is Brian and I have been a quadriplegic for 7 years due to a traumatic spinal cord injury I sustained at work on March 15, 2010. On that Monday morning, I went to my job at Stock Building Supply as a healthy, active 33-year-old, looking forward to my after-work run and dinner with my wife and two small children. But, two hours later I was in the warehouse doing my normal duties and was knocked backwards into a cart of house windows causing my head to stap forward, paralyzing me from the shoulders down instantly. At first the doctors weren't sure I was going to live. In God's mercy, I survived the accident, endured 5 months of inpatient care at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, and worked through 2 years of outpatient rehabilitation, unfortunately not gaining any motor function back. This catastrophicly changed my family's life. I now require 24/7 nursing and have limited independence. I have a supportive wife who encourages me to be productive despite my limitations, and two awesome kids who love to spend time with their Daddy.

Now that my kids are getting a little older, more opportunities to do outdoor activities and vacations are happening. Unfortunately my wheelchair is not designed to do some of these things. I have a difficult time taking my chair off the pavement. I tend to get stuck if the surface isn't solid. I've been stuck trying to get to athletic fields to watch my kids games, trying to go for walks with my family on park paths, and even my backyard. We really want to do a beach vacation, but I can't get on the sand to watch my kids play in the surf. I would have to sit on the boardwalk or parking lot and watch from afar. My son is at the age where I can take him hunting and fishing, but I can't take him by myself because if I got stuck, he couldn't get me out.

Well it turns out the technology has finally arrived that will help me access the beach and woods on my own. They have introduced a Power Wheelchair that overcomes the outdoors with ease. Its call a track chair and it applies the principle of tracks to move around, similar to a tank. They started making these geared toward veterans, but now they're branching out to others with disabilities like mine. I've finally found a company called Trac-Fab that makes one that I'm able to drive with my Sip-N-Puff system I use on my everyday chair, which is super awesome! I will be able to go virtually anywhere I want to go on any type of terrain safely.

Unfortunately, it is not covered by my insurance because, it is viewed as quality of life and not a medical necessity. So now, I have the chance to hit the outdoors but there is a matter of $25000 standing between me and getting there. The Trac-Fab chair costs $25000 and I can't come up with all of it on my own. It's more expensive than most because of my high level of injury, I require special seating and electronics. This is why; I've come here to see if, I can fundraise as much as possible to get one. I hope that after 7 years of not accessing the beach and the woods, maybe this will be my year to finally get back to the things I've missed and enjoy making lasting memories with my family.

I hope you can pitch in and help. If you do, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart! !