Rich’s tech retooling

When Rich Komorouski made the move to the DuPage Care Center (DPCC) he was already tech savvy and using Dragon Naturally Speaking to access a computer. But with Donka now his “next door neighbor” at DPCC, he was excited to take advantage of our training program and brush up his tools and skills.

Rich was severely injured in a bicycle accident in 2009 and experiences paralysis of all four limbs. During the summer of 2010, he received physical and occupational therapy at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago where he originally learned to use Dragon. Having worked as a maintenance technician before his accident, he had hoped to learn new skills to transition to an office job.

While he was unable to transition to employment, Rich uses his Dragon skills daily to write, which is his passion. Since graduating from Donka’s training, where he learned new Dragon commands and features, Rich has expanded his computer skills to include greeting card design.

“The most interesting thing I learned about computer work was how to create greeting cards. People like to receive original cards and I like making them. I do write as well. I have kept a journal that I share with friends. I write about my experiences since my accident and how God is teaching me new things about myself,” says Rich.

Rich owns a laptop and logs on every morning from his room. He visits the Donka computer lab during open hours about once a week to take advantage of our printers and extra time to work on his writing and design.

Living at a treatment center can sometimes be isolating and Rich is grateful for his Donka training. He says, “[It has] improved my ability to stay in touch with the outside world. That, in and of itself, was reason enough for me to have gone through the program.” In his graduation testimonial letter, Rich left a special message of appreciation for Donka’s staff and supporters: “I was surprised to learn how much Donka relies on private funds and corporate grants to stay open. Your money is well spent! When I was first injured, nine years ago, I researched for places such as Donka. I only found Donka. My wife and I were surprised by this. This facility is needed for people such as I to learn new skills or new ways to use old ones. This place has skilled, wonderful personnel with the best equipment which they know how to use.”