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Farmer lives dream after accident

One never knows how a split second can change your life, until it happens, according to western Iowa farmer Craig Smith.

Smith's life changed in a split second in March 2007, after he fell through a roof he was repairing, while doing what he loved--farming with his dad. As a result of the fall, he received a spinal cord injury at the T9-T10 level vertebrae, leaving him a paraplegic.

He was in the hospital in Omaha for two weeks until the doctors could make some repairs and then he was transferred to Des Moines for rehabilitation.

During his three-week rehabilitation in Des Moines, Chuck Larson, a rehabilitation specialist with the Easter Seals Rural Solutions, found Smith and started talking to him about what could be done to help him accommodate his limited mobility.

The Easter Seals Rural Solutions program works with farmers who have acquired disabilities by adapting equipment, making modifications to the farm, along with examining home accessibility options.

With Larson's help, Smith was able to give some ideas to a local welder, and a tractor lift was built to allow him to continue to work on the family farm.

"With an injury like this, everything I loved was initially taken away," explained Smith. "If it wasn't for Easter Seals, I don't know where else I could have gotten the help to be able to farm and use a tractor again."

Smith raises corn and soybeans on a farm near Atlantic, Iowa. He owns 100 acres and rents 140 acres on his own, and also helps his dad on his 900-acre grain farm close by.

Rural Solutions program

"The Rural Solutions program provides a unique service to Iowa farmers not available through any other entity in the state of Iowa," said Sherri Nielsen, president and CEO of the Easter Seals Iowa. "The award-winning program was founded by Easter Seals Iowa in 1986, and has been replicated in 30 states around the country."

For farmers with a newly acquired disability, Rural Solutions offers them often the only hope they have to return to farming. This program allows the farmer to continue to be a gainfully employed, tax-paying citizen.

"Rural Solutions has served more than 1,650 Iowa farmers with disabilities, from all 99 counties. This has made it possible for these farmers and their families to continue farming," she said.

The program helps Iowa farmers with disabilities and their families return to farming by making modifications in their farm equipment and homes so that they can continue to make a living by farming.

Program components include: agricultural worksite and home modifications consultations, peer support services, services for the family, information and referral, and equipment loan services.

Smith said once he returned home from the hospital, Larson visited him on a weekly basis to help with ideas of how his home and farm could be modified to help him continue to live and work there.

"He really helped me regain my mobility and realize that I could get back to doing what I had always dreamed of doing--farming," said Smith.

"Unlike clients with disabilities served in our other programs, most farmers served by this program acquired their disability through some type of accident, injury, or medical illness as opposed to being born with a disability," said Nielsen. "Since secondary injuries are very common among farmers who have disabilities, the Rural Solutions program also has a safety education component that teaches farm family members with disabilities how to prevent secondary injuries."

Tractor modification

Craig's father, Doug Smith, said they were very lucky to have a great welder to work with to help with the equipment modification.

Mike Mortensen, of Mike's Welding in Kimballton, Iowa, looked at the pictures Larson provided of other altered equipment to decide what to do for Smith.

"We added the lift chair to the tractor first, about two years ago. The project took a lot of trial and error to get it right," said Mortensen. "Then they traded for a different tractor and we took the chair lift off of the old one and put it on the new one."

The chair lift works on its own separate motor and lowers down near the ground, where Smith then pulls himself over into the chair on the lift and buckles in. He then uses the control to lift the chair up and it then swings out to get him at the same level as the door on the cab of the tractor.

Once Smith is inside the tractor, the chair lift then rides in a raised position to clear the wheel fender.

"His days in the tractor are definitely his best days," said the elder Smith. "We are so fortunate to have been able to make these modifications for Craig to continue to do what he loves."

He uses the tractor to do everything from working ground to spraying, and planting to hauling corn. The new models of tractors allow for him to drive without needing the use of a clutch, like required on the older models.

Combine modification

The modification to the combine took a bit more time, as the Smiths decided to trade for a new combine in order to get one that would accommodate his needs.

"We had Mike go look at a combine prior to harvest in 2008; but, it wasn't until the summer of 2009 that we decided which combine would work," said Smith's father.

The platform to enter the combine cab had to be big enough to attach an elevator-type lift. Once the model was chosen, Mortensen got to work on the lift.

"The combine took a lot more trial and error than the tractor lift did. We started with one wench which didn't work, and then it was back to square one," said Mortensen. "We didn't have any type of blueprint for this project."

The crew at Mortensen's shop brainstormed and decided to use a power wench off of a bulk truck, and then put things together one piece at a time.

"Craig was in here more than once to see what would work," he added.

The modification to the combine is more like an elevator, which moves up and down. Once the elevator is down, Smith can wheel onto the platform with his wheelchair, and close all the doors around him to ensure his safety during the lift.

Once to the top, he shifts his chair around to move onto the platform that goes to the cab, and then pulls himself into the cab. His chair is secured on the platform for when he is ready to get out of the combine.

During travel down the road, the lift platform folds up and in to keep the width of the combine safe for travel; but, while in the field, it is left out, as it does not disturb harvest at all.

"We were most concerned that these modifications would continue to make the equipment use safe, and easy for Craig to use," said the elder Smith.

Each project took about a week to build, using a lot of trial and error and input from several different people to make it successful.

Smith plans to continue to play an active role on his family's farming operation. His whole family is glad to have the help of the Easter Seals program to provide resources, education and confidence for his future.

"Most of all, Easter Seals has given me the hope that I could continue, that things could be done to help me do what I thought I never would be able to do again," he said.

For more information on the Easter Seals Rural Solutions Program, contact Easter Seals Iowa at info@eastersealsia.org or 515-309-1783.

Jennifer Bremer can be reached at 515-833-2120, or by e-mail at jbremer@hpj.com.

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