Man fighting revamps foundation to cope with pandemic impact
Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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Associated Press member exchange story from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – To honor the birth of his daughter, Kevin Swan had the image of a watch tattooed on his left wrist – hands permanently frozen at 5:27 p.m., the exact time 2-year-old Elliott Monroe Swan came into the world on Feb. 21, 2018.
“It was my first Father’s Day present; it is set to the time Elliott was born,” Kevin, 39, said through an electronic voice that dictates sentences shortly after he finishes crafting them by gazing at specific letters on a tablet.
LAKEWOOD RANCH – To honor the birth of his daughter, Kevin Swan had the image of a watch tattooed on his left wrist – hands permanently frozen at 5:27 p.m., the exact time 2-year-old Elliott Monroe Swan came into the world on Feb. 21, 2018.
“It was my first Father’s Day present; it is set to the time Elliott was born,” Kevin, 39, said through an electronic voice that dictates sentences shortly after he finishes crafting them by gazing at specific letters on a tablet.
In February 2012, Kevin was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In the years since, the disease – which attacks the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord – has robbed him of mobility and speech. He breathes with help from a ventilator, eats through a feeding tube and communicates through technology one eye movement at a time.