Secretary Pamela Hall had the pleasure of meeting with Ted and Joanne Trommelen at their home in Stony Plain Alberta on May 3, 2015.

Ted heard about the Bockman Foundation through the Canadian Paraplegic Society and he submitted a request for funding.  On June 21, 2014 he was involved in a Bobcat accident on his acreage near Stony Plain that changed his life forever.  He suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury to C4 and C5 that has left him wheel chair bound.   While Ted recovered in hospital and then rehabilitation at the Glenrose, Joanne packed up and sold the beloved acreage that had been Ted’s home for 34 years.  She found a home in Stony Plain and worked to make it ready for Ted’s arrival from hospital.  This included a metal ramp that requires no snow removal and isn’t subject to icing that would allow Ted to enter their home.  Interior doors had to be changed to allow for a wheelchair to manoeuver, and an aluminium wheelchair had to be purchased that would be light enough to let Joanne assist Ted without compromising her arthritis.  
At their April 30, 2015 meeting, Bockman Foundation Board Members passed a motion to award money to Ted to assist him with the cost of his ramp.  A cheque was presented to Ted on May 3, 2015.  Ted and Joanne expressed their gratitude to the Foundation knowing that this money will help them with things that have been put off.  Meanwhile Ted’s background in electronics still pulls him into his home workshop where he is soon hoping to get back to doing small projects.
In keeping with their goal of fostering independence in spinal cord injured patients, the Bockman Foundation is proud to have helped Ted and Joanne.