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When I was 9 years old, a tramatic event occurred. On April 8 1983, I was hit by a car in Sheridan Wyoming. I sustained a closed head injury and was in a coma for 2.5 months. I then went to Minneapolis Minnesota for rehabilitation. I spent another 2.5 months here. The direct result of the head injury is that before the accident, I was right-handed and I have had to re-learn how to do everything with my left hand. It was predicted that I would not finish highschool. It is also important to note that my dad bought a computer around this time and I was taken to a specialist who gave me a fingering chart for the qwerty keyboard.

Results of the head injury:

I have been blessed that the extent of the damage was purely physical and my mind is as sharp as a tack.

Luckily, I finished the rehabilitation process in time to advance to the fourth grade. I was attending a private school and this school provided an ocupational therapist and an aide. The school also took me to the local hospital for physical therapy. In the fifth grade, I moved into the public school system because the private school lost funding for the services I needed.

The state of Wyoming paid for a full-time aide, and a typewriter. The teachers that I had, three of them, were phenominal. I was integrated into the classroom so that I could maintain my peer-group. This year was not as instrumental in my independence as the following years.

In the sixth grade, my family moved to Texas. Texas did not offer the same services that Wyoming did, so I became independent by teaching myself how to write with my left hand. I was fully integrated into the classroom here, with the exception of having an ocupational therapist visit once a week.

In the seventh grade, I took an art class and continued to write for myself in my classes. At home, in this year I steadied my tremors enough to carry a full glass of liquid from the counter to the table.

In the eighth grade, I taught myself to tie a shoe. You see, velcro came out just when my head injury happened and so I did not need to tie shoes from the 4th grade to the 8th grade.

Nineth grade was pretty much a blur to me. I remember going to another private school and being teased for my physical challenges. 10th grade through 12th grade were fairly uneventful. I was accepted by my peers and graduated, in a competitive school at the exact middle of the class with a GPA of 2.86. I should also note that I received at least one scholarship.

I chose to attend the local community college because I was not sure what I wanted to do and it seemed like the obvious choice for uncertainty. I tried to follow in the footsteps of my dad, but the math was a little challenging. I primarily got rid of my basic classes here. I took a business class and found it interesting. I also took a computer class and aced this. I then decided to go on to one of the 2+2 schools in the area to major in computer science. I spent 4 additional years getting my bachelor's degree. After this was over, I did not feel confident in my abilities, so I returned to the local community college and obtained a Cisco certificate (CCNA). After this, I moved to the capital of my state to find work. I was hired by Dell to work in their call center answering help-desk questions. I primarily focused on fixing hardware. I worked in their E-support group, which meant I responded to customers through writing instructions either via email or through chat. Sometimes this included both. It was during this time that Dell requested a typing test. I found out that I can type roughly 35 to 37 words per minute, without errors, using only one hand.

Today, I am fairly independent. I drive a vehicle. I drive very safely and was last involved in an accident over 5 years ago. I have moved to the Kansas City area and am currently seeking work. I would be happy to give an inspirational speech if requested. Please feel free to contact me directly at Robert-T@inbox.com