Bloggin Buddies

Former ACC student, LSA create special bond, accessibility blog

John Andrus fine-tunes an adapted camera for Zach to use at McElroy Park.

There was more than one reason for celebration at Jamestown’s McElroy Park one crisp fall day.

The first was to celebrate Zach’s favorite season. The autumn evening was picturesque, sunny and without clouds, warm enough to melt ice cream over a slice of pie, yet just brisk enough to remind you summer was in its final throes. It wasn’t too hard to find yourself savoring the weather, as the sound of John Andrus and his banjo wove within two guitars.

The second reason for celebration was a new blog created by John and Zach discussing wheelchair accessibility. Zach moves around in a wheelchair, and craves being on the go and seeing new things. John, Zach’s Life Skills Assistant, is more than happy to oblige and they were always on the lookout for new places to see. McElroy Park just happens to be one location they have visited and discussed on the blog.

“It is a pretty cool spot if you want to get outside,” said John. “It’s got two sets of accessible bathrooms, sidewalks going everywhere, and wheelchair-accessible swings. Not every park has all those things. In Jamestown, they put all their resources toward one park and that is pretty nice that they didn’t get spread too thin.”

The celebration gave Zach and some of his friends from the Center a chance to spend the evening outdoors. Other members of the Hofmann and Andrus families got a chance to meet, putting faces to names and stories told often during the work week. It was comfortable, the kind of setting where you are family, even if you aren’t technically family.

It’s almost hard to remember that the celebration, the blog, all of it, were things the Hofmann family didn’t dare dream of a year ago.

Finding a Home

Normally, when ACC students turn 21 they are approaching their graduation from the Center. And in 2007, Zach was approaching his 21st birthday. But a rash of health problems suddenly turned a promising time very uncertain for the young adult.

“Zach was probably going to live in Valley City,” his mom Patty explained. “I was praying we wouldn’t have to go to a nursing home.”

The Center reacted, deciding to expand its services to include adults. Specialists and experts began crafting a curriculum and a future for Zach, creating the testing grounds for a new era in ACC care.

As it turned out, John’s selection was a bit of a wild card. Finding his way to the Anne Carlsen Center was a bit of a wild card, really. John had been working in Valley City and was wanting to move to Jamestown, affording him the chance to stay with his father at his home in the evenings. After resigning from his position without knowing if he would be hired for sure, the former grade school principal was interviewed by the Center. And when Zach collected his diploma in May, John had been a Center employee for just over a week.

Even early on, the bond between Zach and John was apparent.

“You really couldn’t have created this,” said Patty. “I truly believe it was divine intervention.”

Getting out and about is something Patty raised her son to relish. Wherever the family went, there was Zach until he joined the Center at age 16. While he was still able to get out and about, it isn’t anything like it is now.

Each day John and Zach have time built into their daily schedule to be part of the community. On Tuesdays and Thursdays the pair shreds old documents for the Southwest Human Services building. Wednesday has the duo traveling to the Jamestown College library, where Zach has a host of duties, including the placement of stickers on periodicals. On Mondays and Fridays, Zach and John are left to do what they please, be it shopping or working on the new blog.

“I’ve spent so many years being creative and trying to figure out what Zach could do, not what he couldn’t do,” said Patty. “It is so refreshing to have John taking care of everything.”

Finding an Outlet

Like so many great ideas, creating an interactive environment to discuss wheelchair accessibility just sort of came to John one Friday afternoon. There wasn’t a grand plan, no master scheme. Honestly, one minute it wasn’t there and the next minute it was.

“The first idea was just to talk about wheelchair accessibility,” said John. “That started because of frustration, really, going to a place and not being able to do anything there.”

From there John incorporated the idea of a blog because it was something he had never done before. He was also excited about the opportunity the blog presented for Zach.

“I like being able to put ideas out there and let others communicate about it,” said John. “I like the interactive part. I didn’t want to diminish what has been done, I just wanted to explore what else could be done and say there is always room for improvement.”

The blog also offers a peek at many of the local wheelchair-accessible facilities through Zach’s eyes. Using an adapted digital camera, he is able to snap photos of locations and accessibility features and add his own touch to the internet.

“We have something to contribute to society,” John said. “That is so important for anyone, to have something to contribute. Zach knows he’s doing some good stuff.”

Each day offers a brand-new set of adventures for the pair. There are plenty of new things to see, plenty of new things to talk about.

You can catch up with them on the blog at www.wheelchairaccessibilityreview.blogspot.com.