Let's Get Dusty Behind the Wheel!

Nine years ago, my best friend Dusty Swanson was injured at a high school regional wrestling match. Dusty suffered a severe spinal cord injury on vertebrae C4 and C5 that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Dusty has never let the injury hold him back and continues to greet each day with a positive outlook. He graduated from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and he is now working in Rapid City. To regain his freedom and independence we would like to get him back behind the wheel. The driving system equipment itself sells for upwards of 70 thousand dollars, and handicap conversions run another 30 thousand dollars, plus the cost of a new or a used vehicle. Before his accident Dusty could always be found outdoors and enjoyed things such as hunting, fishing, dirt biking, and being out on dirt roads with his friends. To get him driving again would regain so much of his independence, and he could get himself to work or even out to visit friends without having to rely on other people. Dusty has always been willing to help a friend, and now it’s our turn to consider helping him. Any amount would be greatly appreciated.