Shop Consultation and Rehab - My Dad's Workshop
*Breath in - Breath out*
Ok…
Now we can talk about my Dad’s work space, and how it’s a big part of what set me on this path, in a couple very specific ways
This is my Dad’s Prosthetics Laboratory, it’s been six years since a car accident forced an early retirement, but it hasn’t changed much, other then lumber being stored in the middle currently, that’s mine.
Now my Dad made this space work for his business, Advanced Prosthetic Technologies, for 25 years, and it’s looked like this from pretty much day one. He knew it wasn’t big enough when they built it, but it was what could be afforded, and despite talks of expanding later, this is how it stayed, and it facilitated a one man shop to compete against several, much larger, better funded, “modern” companies, who long sought to push him out of business.
As a one man shop that means that Dad was constantly on the go, driving to see patients in their homes, or in the workshop until the wee hours of the night working on limbs, or orthotics. That doesn’t leave much time to clean and organize, though I will say that the organization that he created initially was rather ingenious, and suited his needs at the time.
I mentioned a car accident…
Six years ago, three days before christmas, my Dad was T-boned on the passenger side of his car by a Prius going 65 mph. When first responders arrived on the scene they found him unconscious and slumped over the steering wheel bleeding from his head, they assumed he was dead and went to assist the couple in the prius who escaped with minor injuries. Well thankfully he wasn’t dead, and thankfully I wasn’t riding in the car with him like I was supposed to be, otherwise I would not be here to write this for you.
After the local ER determined there was nerve damage, he won a helicopter ride to the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) where they determined that he had received a small fracture on the fillet of a neck vertebrae, and the whiplash had bruised his spinal cord which caused swelling, leading to paralysis. The initial diagnosis was that he was an incomplete quadriplegic. Fast forward to today, and you’ll find him up and walking around, riding his trike, or driving old ladies around to get their groceries, and if you ask him he’ll tell you the whole story, probably twice, about how the doc’s said he’d never walk again, and it’s a miracle, and, and, and…. well I don’t know about the miracle part, he did get a halo, and it was christmas time, and everyone talks about THE miracle at christmas… I don’t recommend spending christmas in the hospital, it’s certainly better than the morgue.
…. so back to the workshop, obviously Dad’s needs, and abilities, changed on that day in December. now six years after his accident he’s started to want to work on projects again. but has found that he can’t do everything that he used to, or that it takes more energy to complete tasks that used to be simple. my main goal with this project is to make the shop functional for him again.
The first priority in this undertaking is to CLEAN and ORGANIZE….
You’ve seen the before photos, here are the current where we are today photos… it’s only taken 9 months to get here. Keep in mind too that this is still a work space… I’ve been pouring epoxy coasters, tables, and charcuterie boards in here all winter, and Dad is slowly working on a pair of orthotics again….
All the major tools are in their place, my Mom and I are working through that pile of boxes, slowly finding or making new homes for all the tools. Mom is also heroically working with Dad to review and downsize the tool collections to make it easier on us to organize. Since he had a mobile lab in his cargo van, a car when the big van wasn’t needed, and the workshop, effectively has at least three of everything, and that just isn’t needed anymore. The end of this projects is in sight! I’ll keep updating this page as we make progress, so check back often.