Neil Squire: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Neil Squire UVIC.jpg|thumb|Neil Squire before his accident]]'''Neil Squire''' was an accounting student at the [[University of Victoria]] and |
[[File:Neil Squire UVIC.jpg|thumb|Neil Squire before his accident]]'''Neil Squire''' was an accounting student at the [[University of Victoria]] and a basketball player. After a car accident left him a high level [[quadriplegic]], Neil’s tireless efforts to learn a new form of communication became the inspiration for the creation of the [[Neil Squire Society]]. |
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Born December 24, 1959, Neil grew up in [[Nanaimo, British Columbia]], [[Canada]]. Throughout his childhood Neil had always been very involved in school, music and sports. By the time he reached high school, he had won several awards for scholastics, service, band and sports. When he graduated, he was an accomplished basketball player, having been very successful at the provincial level. |
Born December 24, 1959, Neil grew up in [[Nanaimo, British Columbia]], [[Canada]]. Throughout his childhood Neil had always been very involved in school, music and sports. By the time he reached high school, he had won several awards for scholastics, service, band and sports. When he graduated, he was an accomplished basketball player, having been very successful at the provincial level. |
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In December of 1980 Neil, who had begun studying accounting at the [[University of Victoria]], hit a patch of black ice only a short distance from his home. His car hit a tree and Neil severed his C3 and C4 vertebrae. This accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, unable to speak and reliant on a respirator. |
In December of 1980 Neil, who had begun studying accounting at the [[University of Victoria]], hit a patch of black ice only a short distance from his home. His car hit a tree and Neil severed his C3 and C4 vertebrae. This accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, unable to speak and reliant on a respirator. |
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After many months of rehabilitation at |
After many months of rehabilitation at the Shaunnessey Hospital Spinal Cord Unit Neil began working with his inventor relative Bill Cameron to learn to use the “[[sip-and-puff]]” machine that Bill had created from an old [[teletype machine]] to aid Neil in communication. Neil learned to use [[Morse code]], which was converted into words on a screen through Bill’s device. This original device was soon replaced by a computer. |
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[[File:Neil Squire at Computer.jpg|thumb|Neil Squire using the sip and puff teletype machine]] |
[[File:Neil Squire at Computer.jpg|thumb|Neil Squire using the sip and puff teletype machine]] |
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Revision as of 18:06, 27 July 2011
Neil Squire was an accounting student at the University of Victoria and a basketball player. After a car accident left him a high level quadriplegic, Neil’s tireless efforts to learn a new form of communication became the inspiration for the creation of the Neil Squire Society.
Born December 24, 1959, Neil grew up in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Throughout his childhood Neil had always been very involved in school, music and sports. By the time he reached high school, he had won several awards for scholastics, service, band and sports. When he graduated, he was an accomplished basketball player, having been very successful at the provincial level.
In December of 1980 Neil, who had begun studying accounting at the University of Victoria, hit a patch of black ice only a short distance from his home. His car hit a tree and Neil severed his C3 and C4 vertebrae. This accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, unable to speak and reliant on a respirator.
After many months of rehabilitation at the Shaunnessey Hospital Spinal Cord Unit Neil began working with his inventor relative Bill Cameron to learn to use the “sip-and-puff” machine that Bill had created from an old teletype machine to aid Neil in communication. Neil learned to use Morse code, which was converted into words on a screen through Bill’s device. This original device was soon replaced by a computer.
By the time Neil died of kidney failure on April 18, 1984, he had moved from Shaunnessey Hospital to an extended care unit at Gorge Road hospital in Victoria, BC. There, many volunteers worked with him and other patients in what had come to be called the Computer Comfort program.
These volunteers had been looking for an appropriate name to give their efforts. They named their group the Neil Squire Foundation, later the Neil Squire Society, and this organization has been helping persons with disabilities across Canada increase their independence ever since.