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thedrifter
04-13-07, 07:43 AM
From War Back into the Workforce

(ARA) - In the four years, since war broke out between the U.S. and Iraq, 23,417 American servicemen (as of February 2007) have been injured. As a result, many injured servicemen have needed to embrace cutting edge technology like hi-tech prosthetics and mobility systems to assist them in facing a new day.

Cpl. Matt Cole is one such U.S. veteran who is utilizing new technology since his life changed on May 17, 2005. On that day, Cpl. Cole survived an insurgent attack on the U.S. Marines forward operating base in Haditha, Iraq.

"I was hit with shrapnel from a mortar attack that left me paralyzed from the chest down," he says. After his injury, Matt thought about all of the things he might never be able to do again, like walk his dog, tend to the yard and maneuver around the kitchen as a New Orleans chef.

But during his 3 1/2 month rehabilitation at the James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Hospital in Tampa, Fla., he found a new lease on life. "I heard about the INDEPENDENCE iBOT 4000 Mobility System, a unique wheelchair that gives people with disabilities like me back their mobility, and knew I had to have one," says Cpl. Cole.

The iBOT Mobility System - click here for a demonstration of how it works - uses multiple computers to help its users climb curbs and stairs, travel around town at an elevated eye-to-eye height, and move over different types of terrain, like sand, gravel and grass. Cpl. Cole credits his iBOT Mobility System with helping him get back into the workforce just a year after losing his mobility.

"The iBOT 4000 has definitely made it easier to fulfill my dream of becoming a chef," says Cpl. Cole. "If I didn't have the iBOT, it definitely would have been hard to attend cooking classes as my culinary school wasn't really accessible."

Case in point, one day during the Fall semester, the school administrator called Cpl. Cole to let him know the elevator in one of his classroom buildings was broken. "He said he was sorry that I would have to miss class until it was fixed in a few days," says Cpl. Cole. "I told him that I would be in class the next day! I definitely amazed a lot of people when they saw me climbing up two flights of stairs to my class in my iBOT 4000."

Cpl. Cole says when he achieves his goal of becoming a chef at a restaurant in or around the New Orleans area, the iBOT Mobility System will allow him to be independently efficient in the kitchen. He'll be able to get that extra height to grab ingredients off the shelves, and maneuver around the kitchen just like other chefs.

To find out if the iBOT Mobility System can improve your quality of life, or help someone you know, log on to www.ibotnow.com and fill out the quick online form. A customer service representative will follow up with you in the manner you request -- by phone, email or by sending an informational packet through the U.S. Mail.

Ellie