Help Out an 8th Grader

NWCCTV

Although I am not actively involved on the Forums much and not doing any projects, I do from time to time still browse and I came across this recently.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/loveland/8th-grader-helping-friend-get-his-voice-back-by-building-electronic-device

I offered to help out by donating some of my Parallax items but this guy says he only needs a few items such as WS2812 LED's, LCD's, resistors and some POTS. I am gathering a box to send out to help him out. If anyone wants to contact him/ his mother, PM me and as soon as I am back online I will respond with an email address for them or you can contact them through Facebook. The story brought tears to my eyes as I have a niece who's daughter at just over a year old has gone through many surgeries for similar issues.

erco

Way to go Andy! Very nice to hear from you and see that you're looking out for ways to help. I hope you are doing well yourself.

What a great story and cause! Jacob is an amazing young man to help Ethan like that. I was involved many years ago with a similar challenge. An older Mattel employee had been paralyzed by a car accident and could not communicate. A long time went by before someone realized he could just barely move one hand. Jim was a very capable ham radio operator and knew Morse code. A bunch of us jumped on a project using a Commodore 64 to display letters on TV screen getting Morse code input. We made several custom code keys for Jim to try. After lots of testing, we settled on a keyer design. I wrote the program and burned it to a cartridge for instant-on. (Who's got time for a 1541 floppy drive to spool up?)

Jim was finally able to communicate and the whole experience was very gratifying for everyone involved.