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Dedication.
I dedicate Cooinda Online Web site to Gerard, my husband, carer and best friend. Gerard has very patiently takes care of me and last year even more so. He maintains the level of care I require as I make the very slow, and trip back to the level of independence I had, before my encounter with the prescribed drug known as Predisolone and it's devastating effect on my already CP effected muscles. Without Gerard's practical and emotional support, I would have endured a much harder convalescence. Gerard made me laugh and encouraged me to believe there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I see the light now and it is getting brighter.
It was Gerard who thought of the
name for this web site.
History.
Dedicated to Richard Jackson of TADSA or Technical Aid to the Disabled.
Richard traveled from Adelaide, 250k away, to deliver a Loan Computer from DIRC so that I could access the Common Ground BBS.
Poor Richard, was horrified, when he realized I had been and gone and went and done his worst fear. I had read the manual and found DOSSHELL. He was imagining all sorts of horror stories, all added too due the fact I was so far away. I on the other hand, was just doing what I do best, seeing what else I could do with the computer other than accessing the BBS.
I managed to 'look' without crashing the computer and Richard went on to teach me the very basics of computing. We wrote messages back and forth on Common Ground BBS and I made a few STD phone calls, in the days when STD was quite expensive, even though it was cheaper than it had been.
Richard, your help and patience
back then, has not been forgotten and has bought me to this point - so
take a bow.
History Continued.
I found a way out of the isolation I was feeling, when Richard introduced me to Common Ground BBS. A dial up bulletin board system, set up for people with a disability, situated is our capital city Adelaide.
Prior to this we had been going through a rather horrific time in our family life, As a result I was very much into myself and thought I would never be my old self again. However, as soon as I became a regular user of Common Ground BBS and started chatting to other disabled people from all over South Australia, I immediately began to enjoy life again.
After a little while, the daily two hour free 1800 country access to Common Ground BBS, was cut back to 70 minutes per week due to lack of funding. This devastated me and I did all within my power to do something about it but to know avail. Well, we did end up with 120 minutes per week.
I decided it was time to stop 'belly-aching' about how rotten it all was and do something myself. Even though I, who knew nothing about computers, barely knew how to unzip a file and had no funding, I decided I was going to run a Local Riverland BBS.
To do this, took a couple of years and a lot of learning along the way. With the help of some people who got behind us we finally set up Cooinda BBS and went online on March 20th 1997.
By this time Gerard and I had established the Cooinda Computer Club and a Loan Computer Scheme. So the BBS became the central focus point, where club members could relate even if they were unable to meet in person because of ill health, etc.
Gerard and I now both spend a lot of time at our computers and share this interest with people with a disability and/or chronic illness and carer's, by way of Cooinda Computer Club and Cooinda BBS. We do this because we both have a great interest in disability issues, and in particular assisting people to become empowered by the use of computer so as to ease their isolation. Enabling them to communicate with others in a similar situation as well as finding information for themselves and reaching out to others as the need arises. We are keenly interested in encouraging people to maximize their full potential, know matter how small it may seem to others.
Let me from the onset say, we are by no means, experts in the computer field. We are very much home grown, self taught but have a strong desire to share what we have learnt and learn from others who are willing to share with us, as well.
I have set this web site up, in the hope that it will assist other people with a disability and/or chronic illness to enjoy a greater freedom of lifestyle and expression via their computer. I hope I can wet some appetites, by sharing just a little of the sense of empowerment and variety of lifestyle, we now experience through computer. As you wonder through the site you will see the variety is wide and varied.
In the time I have been setting up this web site both Gerard as a Carer and myself as a person with a disability, have both proven in an even greater way the importance a computer can have as a tool to the outside world.
We live in a small regional town in South Australia. We are isolated both geographically and because of my health which restricts me to being indoors most of the winter season every year.
However in May 2000, I became seriously ill and the Prednisolone drug I was on, caused me to become so weak, it became impossible for me to do anything, other than feed myself. I was bedridden for several months and even after I became more mobile, it took a while to get into anything which required concentration. I am still not 100 percent but am at least able to work at my computer now and work at it, I do!
Whilst I was so weak and ill, Gerard was looking after me around the clock most of the time and his only real outlet as a Carer, was his computer. He also kept Cooinda BBS running smoothly and looked after any Cooinda needs.
For a several months I was so 'out of it' I could only lay in bed and watch TV. I could not physically or mentally involve myself in anything. My only concern was whether or not I would have the strength to transfer from the bed to the commode, right beside the bed and visa versa. One day Gerard had to call a neighbour to assist him to get me back to bed. I had managed to get to the commode but then was totally unable to get back to bed. This is how real the concern was too me.
Eventually I asked Gerard if he could set my computer up beside our the bed. I began to play my favourite game, Solitaire. But this became too painful sitting up in bed after a while so I would have to give up and watch TV again. Occasionally I would chat on the Internet and more often catch up with my BBS friends.
I have found the computer an invaluable
tool in my recovery, in that it gave me a reason to push to get out of
bed, when I was at last able to do so. I had to read and reply to email
for a start and the challenge to continue setting up this web site was
always before me.
Setting Up Cooinda Online.
Setting up this web site has been quite an adventure for me. I first started playing around with Netscape Composer at least two years ago. My first attempts at experimenting were very simple. Just looking to see what applications the program contained and having attempts at what I could do with the functions. Finally, I settled down to seriously set up a web site in February 2000.
After a six or seven month break through illness, I started working on the web site again in February 2001. It is now April and I still am unwell at times and now suffer an arm injury caused by having to push up on it to transfer from the bed to the commode continuously for months, when I was totally weak. I was determined to not go to hospital or use a lifter as I wanted to keep using my leg muscles. Consequently, even though my strength is returning, I am still unable to get in our car at the moment as I use both my arms to transfer from my wheelchair to the car. So for now I am still completely housebound, other than for 'walks' in the wheelchair.
I am however, very excited because I am now doing the last minute touch ups and will be putting it on the Internet, very soon now.
May 8th at 4:40 pm - Great excitement, I finally uploaded the web site to the Internet. Gerard was so thrilled, he went out and bought a bottle of non alcoholic wine and chips - salt and vinegar of course - and we celebrated.
May 9th I spent fine tuning the web site. It is now May 10th at 12:45 am after some sleep, I am back at my computer doing the last of the finer tuning and later today after some more sleep, I will start to let people know the web site is available.
Now 2 am Tuesday May 15th. Have thought of and been working on a few alterations and additions to make the web site easier to navigate. Still have not told anyone where to access it. 'Mrs. Fusspot', is now almost ready let it loose to the scrutiny of a chosen few.
Still May 15th but now 5.30 pm. After an early morning sleep and a very constructive and challenging meeting with Peter Lowings, representing the South Australian Centre for Rural & Remote Health. Discussing the Barriers to Communication. We have been tremendously encouraged and challenged. We are now all fired up and ready for the next step in taking Cooinda Computer Club to it's next stage.
Mrs. Fusspot is now satisfied she has the web site ready to let people take a first peak at. :-) Soon as I complete this write up and send it to the web site, I am definitely without any further procrastination, starting the promotion process.
We hope you will enjoy visiting the 'Cooinda Online Web Site'. I will be adding bits and pieces from time to time so please bookmark it and come pay us regular visits.
Footnote.
The web site has taken much longer to set up than it should have, due to the set back mentioned above. At the same time it is a testament of the fact that disability and chronic illness cannot stop us, it can only slow us down a little.
The web site, BBS and anything else I do on my computer, is all done with two fingers on my left hand and one on the right hand. Oh and I better fess up and say I more often than not, use the left thumb to use the space bar. Hope there's know computer keyboard teachers reading this. :-)
So be encouraged have a dream or a vision, set achievable goals and work at it, know matter how slow it may seem. Remember dreamer's are winner's.
"Where there is no vision the people perish" Proverbs 29:18 King James Version.
Roslyn McKearney,
Your Webmaster. May 15th
2001