GOOD WORKS
High Notes What if a disability robbed you of a hobby, a sport or even a routine activity that gave your life meaning, happiness and independence? And what if someone created a device that returned it to you? Welcome to the world of Tetra and its volunteers
BY CORINNE LUTTER Member & Internal Communications Coordinator
When he was 14, Dave Skelly taught himself to play guitar by listening to rock albums. Over the years, he performed in various bands, dabbling mostly in country, rock and blues. It was a fun way for him to share his love of music with others. But that all ended two years ago when a brain injury left him with limited use of his right side and rendered him unable to work or enjoy his favourite hobby. “I’m lost without my guitar,” says the former oilfield worker. “I played music for a long time — more than 40 years. It’s in my blood.” So when his doctor at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton told him about the Tetra Society — a group of volunteers who create customized assistive devices for people with physical disabilities — he went online to see if the society could help. He was thrilled to discover that a design for a pedal-controlled assistive guitar strummer already existed in Tetra’s database. All he needed was someone to build it for him. Enter APEGA Member Dan Twaites, E.I.T., a project estimator with Cruickshank Group in Sherwood Park. Last summer, Mr. Twaites answered a call in the e-PEG — APEGA’s electronic newsletter — to join a chapter of the Tetra Society forming in Edmonton. Along with Stuart Jamieson, P.Eng., and a university engineering student, Mr. Twaites is one of three volunteers who signed up. Mr. Skelly is his first client. But the idea of helping people was planted in his brain before he’d heard about the new Tetra chapter. One summer, Mr. Twaites worked for an outdoor adventure company in the Okanagan Valley in B.C. It used adapted equipment so people with physical challenges could hike, bike and kayak. That’s when I realized that there are people with disabilities who are, in fact, very able,” he says. “I’m interested in taking my engineering background and doing what I can to help people who have a hard time in the built world.” In many cases a simple assistive device — designed by an inventive volunteer — is all it takes for someone to overcome a barrier and improve someone’s quality of life. Indeed, that’s the
-photo by Corinne Lutter
78 | PEG SPRING 2015
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