A Wheelchair Van for Independence

At 66, and burdened with a rare progressive disease, this artist could just sit on the sidelines and let the rest of life pass him by while collecting disability. Or, he could enroll in a graduate program - exactly 40 years after his BFA from Pratt - and earn his Master's degree so he can qualify to teach at the college level, fulfilling a dream he's had for many years.

- Shortly before the end of his first year at graduate school, his spine fully collapsed and twisted by now, despite knowing it would not change the course of the nerve root disease, he undergoes life-threatening spine reconstruction to alleviate the danger to his right lung so that he might have the chance to complete his degree.

-  Now he needs freedom from the restraints of local transportation systems and Medicaid travel, that tack on hours to even a simple chore, so he can expand the scope of his job search, and alleviate his dependence on others.

- Please read on for more details of his fight,

I am an artist and art historian. I began painting in the late 1960s and earned my BFA from Pratt in 1974 after winning First Runner Up in the prestigious Rome Prize Fellowship the previous year. I painted large scale color field works, some of which were exhibited at several museums including Atlanta's High Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, and Butler Institute of American Art, and sold work to a number of corporate headquarters and major hotels. I also began studying mid-twentieth century American art history. You can see my work at http://robertsolomonart.com/.

In 1984, I put aside my art career to work full-time as a marketing consultant to contribute to my growing family. Then late in 2003, errant radiation I received while being treated for cancer caused irreparable damage to my spine, as a rare and incurable nerve root disease - Adhesive Arachnoiditis - began to compromise my mobility, severely impacting my ability to stand and walk. As a result, I was not able to continue working.

Since 2004, I've undergone dozens of MRIs and CT scans. and have had to endure over 80 spinal injections of various types, as well as a series of lidocaine infusions, to address ongoing severe neuropathic pain. In 2010, a pain pump was installed under my right rib cage, but removed two years later when it malfunctioned.

Five years ago, the progressive disease forced me into an electric wheelchair that reduces gravity on my lower spine when the leg rest is fully extended, This minimizes the degree of neuropathic pain that courses my lower body. A hospital bed serves the same purpose at night.

In May, 2015, halfway through my graduate degree program at Tufts University's Museum School, in an attempt to correct severe scoliosis caused by collapsing vertebrae and endangering my right lung, nearly a third of my spine had to be reinforced with steel rods and pins. Despite this dangerous surgery, and after an intense recovery, I returned to school 3 months later and completed my studies. I received my MFA in May 2016!

To address newly developing intense pain below my knees, I've had two caudal injections that deliver medication through the tiny hole at the base of the spine. A third is planned for January. I'm also undergoing a series of radiofrequency lesioning (RFL) that will hopefully provide me some extended relief from burning pain at the base of my spine and across and down through my thighs.

Now exercising regularly on an stationary bike, I am much stronger despite the continued progression of the disease (this disease impacts the nerve roots, not the muscles). I am painting and drawing again, writing a manuscript about an obscure abstract expressionist, and, with Masters degree in hand, I am now looking to go back to work for the first time in nearly 15 years.

WIth the support of Mass Rehab, I am actively searching for a part-time college level teaching position. In the meantime, I am booking lectures - based on my manuscript - at local adult education programs. So far, I have commitments for Spring from the Brookline and Newton adult ed. programs, and I'm also presenting a six-day course for Newton's Lifetime Learning program.

To support the accomplishment of my goals, I need the independence that owning my own converted van will provide so that I am no longer dependent on others. As I said at the top, I have reached the limit of transportation available to me. I am locked inside the zones of Medicaid transportation and the MBTA. They are suffocating me. I'm not able to achieve my professional goals.

Please help me regain my mobility independence so I can look for work with no travel restrictions, alleviate my dependence on others, and recoup hours of wasted time on shared rides. I  will be extremely thankful for whatever you are able to contribute to my van campaign.

Thank you so much for your consideration, and please share my campaign with a friend!

Robert Solomon