Tracy Kovalench
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 05/98) - Like many Northerners, Patrick Lafferty likes to spend a lot of time on his computer. He's been busy these days sending e-mail and surfing the Web.

For Mother's Day, he used the computer to write a letter to his mom in Fort Resolution.

It was the first letter Rosa Lafferty received from her son since an accident left him without the use of his limbs several years ago.

"I rushed upstairs and put it in my album," said his mother. "I'm so proud of him, the computer's just a start."

Thirty-six-year-old Lafferty lives in Stanton Regional Hospital's extended care unit. Dependent on a respirator and unable to move anything below his neck, his physical abilities are limited. Determined not to let mobility limitations slow him down, Lafferty successfully applied to the Opportunities Fund, which is offered by Human Resources Development Canada, for computer equipment.

Occupational therapist Marjorie Sandercock has made sure Lafferty is using equipment and furniture that best suit his needs.

The only young man in his ward, Lafferty can use the computer to communicate with people of similar disabilities, says Sandercock.

"He's one of a kind," she says. "He's the only respirator-dependant quadriplegic in the territories."

Instead of voice command, Lafferty uses a "HeadMouse" to move the curser across the screen. The sensitive infrared device detects small head and neck movements and translates them into cursor movements on the computer display.

The NWT Council for Disabled Persons has employed instructor Margaret Morley to visit Lafferty three times a week. She says he's progressing quickly and like any student, eager to learn.

"He began with pillows to support his neck, but asked me to take them off one day and has been on his own ever since," says Morley.

Lafferty's short-term goals are to more efficiently operate the computer and to master Windows programs for e-mail and other Internet applications.

A high school diploma, developing a marketable skill and finding a job will then more closer to reality.

"Patrick's determination, persistence and courage is really the driving force behind this project," says social worker Liza Gaudet.

At a hospital gathering Wednesday, Lafferty thanked everyone involved in the project, "for helping me to walk back into the world again."