Quadriplegic Invention Shop

My GoFundMe Hope/Prayers

Hello

I pray that you’ll kindly take the time to read my story about how a critical need for assistance after my accident is now helping Kentucky families and how I could use your assistance to build a shop and a storm shelter. On paper this is seven pages long. Hello - My name is Timmy Scott and I live here in Paducah Kentucky. I just turned 62 years old and have been a quadriplegic since I was 17 – for 43 years now.

By the age of fourteen I was overly outgoing, inquisitive and very mechanically inclined and I loved working. I believe it was mainly due to the long days of farm work, and at my Father’s encouragement to repair my own motorcycle/cars when broken; he was a county-lineman and an avid ham-radio operator - WA4-UGR. I grew-up in west-Paducah going to Lone-Oak school, playing drums, riding moto-cross, hauling hay and tobacco, repairing farm equipment and my dirt-bikes. I loved playing drums and grew-up helping my father build and repair amplifiers for his radio station. I would listen in amazement late nights as he talked to people all around the world..

I gained enough knowledge and experience by the time I was 15 that I had went to work building amusement park rides here in Paducah. Carl Watkins ran Bobs Nobel Park in Paducah. I gained a strong work-ethic at a young age; me and my Father had rebuilt a 49 Chevy truck and I’d bought a 69 Chevelle before I was sixteen from working hauling hay and spiking tobacco for the farmers I grew-up near. I wish I could say I still had those autos. My mind is still sharp and I have retained and expanded my mechanical inclinations and my ambition. Those underlying traits and a dire-need for physical help after my accident allowed me to become an integral part of a program which has helped Kentucky save tens-of-millions of dollars and has positively affected thousands of people with disabilities and their families. I have great insight, dedication and a divine inspiration for life.

I’m taking a step-of-faith and hoping people on GoFundMe will read this and see what I’ve accomplished and that it might touch their heart to make a donation. Due to multiple surgeries and my current condition I could use your help to pay down my thirty thousand dollar home mortgage. This will open a door in my life allowing me to build a small shop to continue development on my designs/inventions that will help persons with disabilities. Looking at what I’ve done, I know I can and will achieve so much more, regardless if I get a little help now or not.

This is my story: From age thirteen to fifteen I was a farm hand; in 1978 before graduating high school I worked at Bobs Nobal Park shooting the fiberglass flumes and welding the iron work for Paducah’s first Waterslide, – this was a summer-job. From there I went to work at my uncle's machine shop, L&H Machine Shop, under D. Hicks and J. T. Langston in Paducah, welding and learning how to use various machines; we were building boarding machines which we shipped internationally.

I had worked there several years as an apprentice when our work slowed down and I was temporarily laid off. Two weeks later right before my 18th birthday in 1980 I ran out and dove into the water at the old beach on Kentucky Lake. I arched my body too much and my head hit the sand, it broke my neck bruising my spinal cord at C 4-5. I’ve been a quadriplegic for 40+ years now. They say I should have acquired brain injury or died that day because I drowned, and yes I saw the heavenly lights, but God had other plans for me then, and He still does now. After the tragic accident I went on to go through rehabilitation then on to college and I graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1990 with a degree in Industrial Psychology and Computer Science.

Once I’d graduated I went to work in 1992 for the Kentucky Department of Vocational Rehabilitation doing vocational counseling and job placement for persons with disabilities. I did this for seven years under a federal grant working with business/industry as a Regional Manager within our tri-state putting people with disabilities into the workforce. I did so until our federal monies were cut and I got laid off in 1999. While I was working I got married in 1994 and started a microfilm business AlertID/MedScopeID which also helped persons with medical Issues; I kept MedScope up until 2003 but had to let it go after my divorce in 2002.

Let me back-up a little; When I graduated UK in 1990, due to my new physical needs while in college I’d developed several unique devices to help people with disabilities live their daily lives more independently. I was keen on noticing unique needs that exist, especially early on while going through rehab. Then experiencing so many diverse disabilities that people have while in college, then again also while working with those similar groups professionally – Please don’t think this is why I’m writing asking for help with capital for patents, it’s not; the end my letter explains why.

I've designed and built prototypes and had (ISC) Invention-Submission-Corporation evaluate them and also while I was in college. I had a patent search done by a patent attorney in Lexington (Ralph King) which came back favorable on one of my devices. Back then I never had the money or the quality time needed to follow through on any of them; I had to concentrate on school and then work – An old machine-shop buddy built them for me. Like I said most of my concepts were/are gathered from where I see needs within my daily life and my disability related interactions, but I'm also inspired by Christ and receive epiphany as I contemplate different aspects of given situations. I utilized two of my devices through college which made life easier and use others around my house. Now my primary inceptions are locked up in my safe and my design portfolio is in the closet on hold. However recently I’ve started coming up with new ideas and I am anxious to pursue them again.

When I graduated from college in 1990 I was getting

$360 a month Social Security Disability and the state required me to buy a new van so they could justify modifying it so that I could drive to help get/keep a job and maintain my self-esteem; plus I’d trained for eight-months during my last year at UK to drive the state-servo-equipped van. I got my driver license back that year. The vans are space-shuttle technology and no small-feet to do, but I did it. However once I graduated I was living at home with my Mother out in the country in west Paducah. There was no way I could afford a new van loan payment and pay insurance on it, and also pay Attendant Care and other medical expenses in order to go to work, There was just no way!… It was a real let-down after trying so hard to graduate and stay positive about life.

So, being out of options, I started a writing campaign; I wrote to ever wealthy individual I saw on TV around the nation that I could find an address for. I wrote to local doctors, and to all of the wealthy people that I could think of in Paducah there were more than I can remember and count – the letters were probably trashed before they ever seen them. However I was writing to them explaining that I had some great designs in-and-of my inventions, but primarily I really just needed some help to get a new van so that I could get it modified to go to work!

This was in 1990-91. I only received one response out of a multitude of people that I had written to; it was the gentleman who made a museum out of the aircraft carrier Intrepid up in New York; it went before their board, but they elected not to help. My parents had divorced then I believe primarily due to the situation. In 1987 loving relatives stepped in with a van that allowed me to finish college and go to work in 1992; however a new van was required by the state for all the modification the state was going to put on it.

Still out of desperation due to my financial situation I continued to write but turned to writing politicians because I really wanted to drive myself and desperately needed help with attendant care. My Mother and I and others started a campaign to lobby Kentucky’s legislature to do something much needed for persons with disabilities like those who were in my position. I went as far having Senator Bob Leeper in my home advocating for it. Wayne Chester an administrator out of Western State Hospital heard about my efforts/needs. He alerted me on what Ken Allen was doing to effectuate legislature on a new disability program in the state. Wayne started helping me; we knew there had to be something to help take the burden off families and allow people the ability to work and/or to just stay independent. My letters and advocating also had to be making people in our government take notice and see the need. Something unique was badly needed to allow the disabled the ability to live in their own homes, without having the threat of financial ruin or of having to go into a nursing home due to their circumstances; something that would help take the burden off of their families.

After countless letters/meetings and our combined effort, Wayne Chester, Ken Allen, Leah Hart, myself and several others finally got to enjoy the fruits of our labor. ‘The Supported Living Program’ in Kentucky House Bill passed in 1993. It received $3.2 million dollars allocated annually to help persons with disabilities in Kentucky to be able to stay in their own homes and to help them become integrated into society.

In 2006 the program was renamed to Hart Supported Living (HSL) and it received an increase to six-million dollars a year. There are many unique features written into the regulations of the program that make it unique. One is that it is ‘Person Centered’ in that it allows family members to be paid as employees when an individual cannot find attendants right away. Another is that the individuals can coordinate their own plans and hire/fire; another is that good used equipment can be bought to save money. Individuals can apply via application as one-time-expense for home accessibility renovations or for impairment related equipment, or apply for on-going personal-care supports or both. It was initiated with thirteen SL Counsels across the state to review and approve applications. HSL can not pay for medical bills, rent or home mortgages and every selected participant is required to maintain all applicable taxes for their plan. In 1995 I developed a requisition tax-witholding form for my own HSL plan which simplified the process; many of the state coordinators adopted it for their clients using the program. I also acclimated several CPA firms in Western Kentucky on its protocols. The program has oversight thru Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health Family Services and Department of Aging. I applied in 1993 and became one of the first 40 across the state to receive funds. In 1997 I also sat on our Region 1 HSL Counsel in Paducah, with Ken Allen, awarding funds and tracking its progress for two consecutive three-year terms as Chairman working with its provider agency Four Rivers Behavioral Health. I was witness to so many filled and unfulfilled heartfelt needs.

All of my supported living funds are currently being used (3 hours a day) for my attendant care; I have two part-time employees working for me as Personal Care Attendants which help me get up and go to bed; they come in for a few hours of mornings and a short-period at night. With Supported Living started in 1993 By-Golly and thanks to the Lord I was able to keep my job, hire some help and even pay my Mother for her help until I hired others. I was also then able to use my earned income to buy a new van so it could be modified to drive myself. I drove it up till 2007 when the adaptive Ahanfield braking system started acting-up; it’s now being kept stored outback till I save-up money to send it to Indianapolis to get it fixed – it’s kind of hard on me looking at it not to be able to drive it anymore; finances permitting I have every intention of driving again. However back in 93 I got my ham radio license and was able to talk to people around the world with my Father before he passed-away the following year. Call sign KD4-DVH.

Anyway, due to constraints on my earned-income of bills during this transition even while working if it wasn’t for Hart Supported Living I could have easily ended up falling behind losing my job and possibly going into a nursing home or an institutional setting. This would have cost me and cost the state ten times what I’m able to accomplish with my HSL funds – What I pay for a whole week, a nursing home would take-up in one day!.. This is another great attribute of the program and is a big factor why it’s still in effect – It has saved Kentucky countless millions if not billions by keeping people out of institutions/congregate settings. I believe the most important thing it has done is to take a great amount of the burden off of the families who have to give so much.

Heart Supported Living is still working wonderfully, and I still help with its oversight when ask; and I write to legislators regularly informing them of its progress. I was recently ask to reapply to the state counsel. It is helping countless mentally and physically disabled individual’s through-out this great state and has been a model for other states since 1993. Since it started it has put 130 million dollars in the hands of the disabled and their families to pay employees while also helping the independence and growth of Kentucky. I’m so blessed to have it; and having been an instrumental part of its inception and continuation, but I know there’s so much more for me to do. . Now I would like to explain to you why I'm writing. I have done really well with my life; when I got married in 1994, yes I got married TTL – And I plan to start writing about life – it’s so wonderful and amazing. Another accomplishment for me was back in 1994 while working and still married I bought a house here in Paducah and I put a little money/effort into it and really fixed it up nice.

In 2005 two local developers wanted it more than I did - Christ answered my prayers and I made a decent profit on the house. I knew it was prime real-estate because of its location when I bought it, and my instincts turned out to be right. In 2006 I purchased a rundown ranch home right next to my mother's small double-wide. I actually thought I was going to have enough money left to build me a decent garage/shop to work on my inventions but was not able to.

I bought this old house for 15k from the bank as a foreclosure and had to put about 40k in it to make it livable. I ended up only needing to borrow another $18,000 under a home equity line of credit to make it livable. I made enough profit on my other home to do most the remodeling. And after two refinances I now owe app the $30,000. It is about 2,000 sq-ft and I’ve probably got more in it than it’ll appraise for – It’s a modest home, nothing spectacular, but it means everything to me at this point in my life. Thanks to a dear friend that stepped in to help, a wonderful family and the Grace of God it turned out to be all I’ll ever really need and should ask for.

I’m not an overly extravagant guy, I’m frugal yet humble - you're talking to a guy that just graduated from a simple track-cell-phone for emergencies when away from home to a regular cell-phone last year – I can’t use a touch screen very well due to my fingers not working and I am typing this with a typing stick in my mouth, I do utilize voice-recognition more-n-more. I still have basic cable and also got my first flat-screen Christmas 2020. I managed to buy another 2005 lift equipped van after selling the house that I use now, after my drivable van broke-down. I feel like I wore-it out working so much doing job-development; it only has 61k miles on it, but it’s waiting on me… I’m cost conscious and manage to make things appear I’m doing well, which I am, thanks to Christ and His mercy and a wonderful family. I have learned the law of ‘first fruits’ when it comes to tithes because I don't want to go before Him empty handed.'

My mother/stepdad live next door in their small double-wide; she is 80 years old now and helps me when others can’t. A big concern is that with many programs being restructured that the Supported Living Program may suffer budget cuts anytime. I think truly deep down this is why I’m writing. I wish that my equity-line balance, the $30,000 was lower or gone-away, so I could borrow a little more again to either build a small shop to work on my devices.

I cannot afford to pay much more than the $400/mo on my monthly payment. I’m not looking forward to going into debt again, but I will to pursue my dreams.

I know it sounds presumptuous and arrogant, but I'm praying that those reading this might be willing to help me get it paid down substantially, so I can start saving my money to build a decent garage/shop. There are people out there that’s willing and donate because I've touched some that have. What has been donated is helping me have more equity in my house to use to a greater extent to build and possibly fix my van. It's going to be great and I’d be so happy to just be out of debt to decide which way to go next! With the F4 tornado that went below me and killed many people here in Mayfield Ky, now I'm desperately wishing I had a storm shelter to sleep in nights also, it's so scary; so I may build an addition to my home that doubles as a shop/bedroom. 

Then! I can pursue my dreams of developing my current ideas and creating more/better devices. I’ll build the ones I have drawn-up first, then test them for function and feasibility before considering any patents. If I build them and it helps people and they are a little profitable who cares about patents – unless it’s a new disruptive technology. I have so many feasible ideas on paper and in thought; everything from a 24/7 accu-wheelchair to resist pressure, to a plethora of daily living assistive devices; and two are related to range-of-motion. I just had a brainstorm the other day and discovered a visual-aid which I’m conducting due-diligence on, and I am currently working with a leathersmith on a unique baffle for ostomy products. The ability to easily experiment/construct these will most certainly lift my hopes and dreams to new highs. I’ve got access to a decent amount of tools I would need which my Father left me when he passed in 1994. What I don’t have I’ll buy/borrow.

I hope someone might want to meet me and see my existing devices and let me explain them and talk about what I’ve done and would like to do. One of my devices is in the picture with me on my lap – it allows paraplegics/quadriplegics to empty their leg-bags unassisted via a unique actuation method. My work helps to further my ambitions and most importantly to bring fruits and benefit others. It’s as if I’m asking for venture capital - I’m not. All wishing aside just helping me get my loan paid down/off will put me in a better position and on track to borrow a little more toward bigger better things starting with my van and a shop.

After my counseling work came to a halt in 1999 in 2002 I also had to quit my part-time AlertID & MedScope home-based microfilm business that I had been doing with my wife; after my divorce there was a lack of job-development help. This was also a worthy cause which involved website design and work with local doctors/pharmacist for timely personal emergency medical information. I've been plagued with UTIs and low blood pressure problems; the constant autonomic dysreflexia which has required five surgeries over the last 15 years has really kept me from going back to work professionally; like most quadriplegics that deal with BP issues I get super cold and very uncomfortable and it's even hard to function if it's below 65 outside. I am trying to overcome these set-backs and seem to be on the mend now because of prayer and I’d love to get back into the workforce and just recently updated my resume.

This endeavor is in-a-sense putting me on track to working again. I’m trying to stay productive and enthusiastic. Since 1999 whenever I have an extra five-ten dollars I also research and buy shares of stock in little up-n-coming companies on the OTC market which trade in the pennies on the dollar; my picks have unique patents or fill a growing niche. I’ve built a small portfolio that might one day payoff. Since 1999 I've managed to accrue very-small stock portfolio across a half-a-dozen little promising companies. I really don't want to sell these now because they ad to the dynamics of my life and I know they're going to be a big pay-off one day; its what I like to think of as my retirement plan. I also fix-up old wheelchairs and sell them to help out but they're few n far between. I pray these efforts will do well because I used God’s revelation knowledge to accomplish them. Also after much studying I opened a Coinbase account incase someone's willing to donate via Bitcoin or any Altcoins; if you prefer to donate via other means such as this you can use the 'Contact' button on my gofundme page to get in-touch for my BTC wallet address or my email. I figure I had best be honest with you; this portfolio is the only thing of value that I own except my house, the two vans.

I'm 62 years old now and I had hoped to have a small garage that would get me out of the house more to build and experiment and also to do other things like maybe even fix up a muscle-car so that my nephews would come over and hang out more. I could definitely put them to work on my designs. I ended up having to spend all my profit from my other house on putting completely new floors and walls in half this house in 06 because it was in terrible shape, but I coordinated sub-contracted it all myself at both homes.

I have a great family, true-faith, high-hopes and big dreams; ‘Call those things that be not as though they were in wishing that my stocks would take off; or that an angel would help me out financially so that I can continue to bless others and experience even more wonderful things in life. We know that it is Gods will that we prosper and all good things come from Heaven above and that He rewards them who diligently seek Him. I already have a wonderful sense of how this feels because I've helped so many disabled people find independence, self-esteem, work, and peace-of-mind with Supported Living and my counseling work.

I also love being a witness for Christ and staying cheerful, forgiving and loving through all these years of such diversity, strife and joy. I know there are no limits with God on what can be done. I really don't know why I'm writing this, I think it's because I've become even closer to Christ, and here lately, as I’m getting older and starting to appreciate things much more and He has put it in my heart again to try one more time through GoFundMe to write in hope of changing things. Maybe this new ambition will cause a pretty lady to come into my life again. I know that there are people out there that have the financial ability and would love to help someone with so much unction and creative enthusiasm. It’s so crazy, back in 1984 after starting to accept my accident, I was saying by year 2000 we would have cures for paralysis and cancer and there would be flying cars; but Gosh, ‘’Were are the flying cars?!’’

I do get Social Security Disability since I’m not currently working, but after I pay all my bills what’s left I'm using to try to pay down my equity line of credit or it ends-up having to go somewhere and I love to give. I just got my visa paid off from my surgeries and home renovations done in 2006 and 2011. I know this request turned out to be pretty long and I pray this inquiry doesn’t spark any ill feelings because I know times are tough for everyone right now, but TTL it never hurts to try and I’ll never give up on that. And thank you so much for reading it… If you’re unable to do anything then my hopes are that maybe you will forward it to to someone who can. I’d love to have a new friend to share ideas and maybe a few stock tips with if anyone wants to contact me.

At risk of sounding redundant I just truly believe that if someone was gracious enough to help me now that I would be able to start something now instead of it taking several more years; I feel like I'm at a standstill in life and understand that I'm asking a lot, but I know there are people out there that have worked hard and poses a big heart and the inherent ability to donate a little on a chance like this; and even if I fail, and if they lose it on me, they will still get a blessing out of the experience of giving; I know that it would be a glorious adventure. I’m 62 and I probably only have another 10 or 15 good years left in my life due to my disability and I sure would like to try to make the most out of it, a little faster, to see my full potential!

I've always tried to be a cheerful giver, and Christ said to believe that you have those things that you have need of when you pray and he will give them to you – inventing requires this attribute as does faith in all things. I know all things are possible to those who believe, And most certainly joy and happiness comes to those who believe and dream. So I'm going to believe this GoFundMe will touch peoples hearts in a certain way and possibly further open the doors of divine favor for both of us.

God Bless you/yours

Respectfully,

Timmy Scott,

Paducah , Ky