Brain Tumor Disabled Man Seeks Government Grant Money To Upgrade Computer

by Charles David Hodges
(Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)

Disabled by a brain tumor revealed during a workplace accident, I'm now looking for a government grant or other financial help to upgrade my computer to keep my work-at-home job.

One day at my job I was working late as normal, I had to do the work of three people.

While checking some inventory for the next day's print jobs I was struck on the head by a 500-pound carton of paper.

I sat for a few minutes trying to shake it off and returned to my desk to finish what was needed for the next morning.

That night I had an x-ray of my head, then the next morning I received a call telling me not to be concerned about the concussion.

But they had discovered a large brain tumor that had encased all of my ventricles. They told me I should not be alive.

Two days later I was in an emergency 14-hour surgery to remove the tumor. They had to remove 33 square inches of my skull to be able to remove the tumor.

After I came out of an induced coma five days later I realized that I could not walk, swallow or use many of my motor functions that I had before.

It took me a year of hard rehab to be able to walk on my own.

But the surgery had taken its toll on me in many ways. Thus life as I had known it was gone forever.

This was troubling because I had turned 50 while I was in surgery and the plans I was working for were gone.

I was so looking forward to my life with my bride of 27 years to be alone again.

I had just gotten my youngest child through college and we were alone again, but not in the condition I wanted to be in.

I have worked very hard to get back as much as much as I can, but my brain had been damaged a lot to remove the tumor.

I can no longer play my drums, something I started to do when I was six years old. I played professional starting at 14 until I met my wife when I was 29.

We have two great adult self-sufficient children for which I am grateful.

I've been working from home for the last three years for a commercial printer from my home computer.

But I was given an ultimatum that I must upgrade my computer to better interface with their system, or I will lose my job on January first of 2011.

That will be a blow to me personally and mentally as well as a large problem for my income.

If I lose that income I will not be able to stay in my home of 21 years. Thank you for directing me to any government grant money or other financial help. Charles David Hodges.