Now that our year is coming to a close, Positive Changes is looking towards a great year. The Camaro that has taken the better part of four years to complete is finally ready for it's public debut. It will be for sale with quite possibly all of the proceeds donated to Positive Changes. February 12-14 it will be on display at Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Mo. I hope you all get a chance to come down and see it. I have been told many times how much better it looks in person than pictures. Rob, the editor of Hot Rod Magazine put together a very satisfying small piece with a picture of Rick and his 1967 Camaro in the February 2010 issue on page 20 in Hot Rod Magazine. If you would like to see more professional quality photos and read more about the cars build and background, drop an e-mail to the editor of Hot Rod Magazine and let him know you would like to see Rick Davidsons car in more detail in their magazine.

His e-mail is rob.kinnan@hotrod.com

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hope to see you at our events next year, Rick.

From everyone at Positive Changes we would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and safe holiday this season.

A huge thank you goes out to our men and women in the Armed Services for Protecting our rights to enjoy these holidays. You are always in our prayers for a safe return home to your families.

Please remeber your favorite charities during this season and through out the next year.

Happy Holidays,

Rick

Now that our golf tournament has been over for a couple of weeks or more, all of us have had a long-awaited rest from all of the planning and scrambling for more sponsors. As the Board looks back upon our golf tournament, there are a few things we would like to change for the better,next year, however planning our first golf tournament together has really turned out great.

A huge thank you to Tompkins, Garmin, Sign Connection, Austins Bar and Grill, Prairie Highlands Golf Course and the rest of our sponsors and all of the volunteers. Positive Changes thanks you all very much! We could not have done this without any of you.

Most of all we would like to thank our 120 players for their participation in the tournament and look forward to seeing you all, and then some, next year.

Stay warm and keep intouch,

Rick

Hey everyone,

I know it's been awhile since I have writen anything but it has been very busy here. The golf tournament is going strong. We have 1 day left and 26 positions left to fill for a max-out at 144. This has been a great learning experiance for all of us. We could not have done this with out the dedication and hard work of everyone involved, including The Olathe Chamber of Commerce, Tompkins, Garmin, Austins, Sign Connection and the other sponsors and donors that have stepped forward to make this tournament possible.

There are so many more people that go un-named that deserve their own praises.

Again THANK YOU everyone for your support and encouragement.

Rick

The golf tournament at Prairie Highlands golf course is quickly approaching and with all of our sponsors, board members and volunteers it looks like July 31 is going to be quite an experience. You see, as a group this is our first attempt at a golf tournament. I'm sure we all will look back at this and find ways to improve the next one. But for now, I can't say how proud I am of all who have helped in their own special way. Positive Changes support is growing and along with that growth, quite a few individuals I think are starting to see a dream come alive. I know as a person, I have grown so much in the last year and learned if you believe in yourself, others will believe in you too.

There are only a few days left to sign up your team or sponsor this event. Tuesday, July 28 is the deadline. Joel I'm sure has already put in a good weather request for the event. I hope I'll see you there. Rick

Thank you ALL for the birthday wishes, it turned out pretty good. The surgery that I had was a central line to kill infection in a sore on my butt through IV antibiotics. Too much info yet? Surgery was a success...it's a girl! Hahaha.. Really though, the IV part is true and I didn't even have to be put under. I told the doctors I didn't have any feeling below my neck anyway... so go for it... I'll let you know if I need anything for pain. After a hour and ten minutes she was finished, I had no pain and all of the doctors and nurses “there were at least ten of them,” all of them said they had witnessed something that they hadn’t ever seen before, so my early morning surgery went pretty well. The best part of today was dinner with Jason and my Mom. We went to Longhorn Steakhouse and the baby back slab of ribs were truly wonderful...oh yeah, I have to say something about the desert plate they sent home with us because we didn‘t have room for it. If you get a chance go on Longhorn Steakhouse website and then look up “Chocolate Stampede“, then you'll understand a little. If you like chocolate you’ll have to try it sometime. Rick

Our event at Sadler's indoor go kart racing May 7 went very well, but after getting the Camaro ready for Indianapolis, the morning of loading the car to be transported to Indianapolis we heard a noise in the oil pan. So we decided to skip this year's auction at Indianapolis and figure out what was creating the noise. After pulling the motor and taking off the oil pan we found out where the noise was coming from. It was an easy fix. Trying to make a deadline was very tiresome for all that were involved. Now that we have more time we can go over the entire car and triple check everything just to be sure we haven't overlooked anything.

Positive Changes as a golf tournament coming up July 31 at Prairie Highlands golf course. If you would like to sponsor or play in our tournament just drop us an e-mail and we can walk you through it. We will be updating our website with the appropriate information very soon. Rick

Last night at Fronteras Mexican Restaurant was a blast. Everyone had so much fun and the food was excellent. We were able to raise some money also and see lots of friends. It is a great place to eat and bring your kids because it is a family oriented business. Thanks to everyone who helped with our fundraiser.

May 7 from 11 to 1:30 PM at Sadler's indoor go kart racing we are showing the 1967 Camaro before we leave to Indianapolis. There is going to be a free lunch and live band. I hope to see you all there before we auction off this Camaro. Rick

Sometimes a person just needs to say, to heck with everything and just go where the Day takes you. Today was one of those days, I got up and checked my e-mail and looked out the window at a beautiful sunny day. I had lunch outside at the corner of 119th St. and Backbob Road. I saw so many people enjoying the day. That's when I decided, "I need to go somewhere relaxing." For some reason the city, downtown Kansas City usually is always relaxing to me. There is a park that overlooks the downtown airport. It is called the Lewis and Clark scenic overlook. I probably spent two hours or more looking around and just enjoying the weather. There are so many people that are unable to enjoy a day like today, going wherever they want. That's one reason why I'm selling my Camaro. The other is if I don't I won't be able to enjoy a day like today either, because I would be stuck in a nursing home somewhere with stupid rules and laws that prohibit it. The state does pay for some of my care that keeps me at home, but there's just one very large snag in their system. The state only pays enough to employ someone from eight o'clock in the morning to midnight. Do you see where I'm going with this? For someone like myself with a very busy schedule when I'm awake, a lot of my cares, have to be done at night, so I need someone at night that it is very trustworthy and reliable to be awake and hopefully doing their job every single night. Some of the things include range of motion for at least one hour twice a night. Then, skin checks, bed Bath, wound care that alone sometimes can take one person an hour or more on a good night. Sometimes the tape doesn't want to cooperate at all. I also have to be turned from side to side to keep fluid from building up in my lungs, that leads to a lot of suctioning. Then, making sure my bed bag does not over flow, also monitoring my temperature, because I can overheat or get very cold quickly, both can be life-threatening. One other very important body function that caused me to be hospitalized twice and a blood transfusion the second time. Your bowels have to empty somehow. Mine used to be the normal and most common way, with one difference, it had to be manually stimulated with a human finger. After 20 years of manipulation to that area the inner lining became very thin. Once that happens it can tear or be punctured very easily and in my case the second time it happened there wasn't any warning, because I will still in my chair from the prior 12 hours or more that day. My personal care attendant and I didn't notice or even realize that I was sitting in a pool of blood until I was going to bed. At that point all we could do was pray and call the ambulance. That night at 1 AM is when the emergency room started giving me IV fluid, including blood. That's twice in just a little over 2 1/2 months that I quite possibly could have bled to death. I couldn't let this happen anymore. I thought to myself, "I still have to much to do in my life", so that's when I decided a colostomy and small pouch to catch the fecal matter was a no-brainer to keep this situation from happening anymore. Now a little more about the attendance pay, from midnight to 8 AM the state only pays $25. It goes without saying, to have trustworthy and competent people that are not medical professionals, "I personally trained each one of them to take care of me." to perform the medical tasks that I have mentioned, money is basically what keeps me alive. I hope this scenario wasn't too graphic, but enough to grasp what I and many, many others go through on a day to day basis, with the hopes of being able to enjoy such a day. If have any questions or need more information about anything I mentioned, please ask. That's what I'm here for. I hope you all have a happy Easter. Rick

I have some good news to announce, Positive Changes is going to have a golf tournament at Prairie Highlands golf course July 31 of 2009. Right now, Positive Changes is looking for sponsors of all types. If you would like to become a sponsor just drop us an e-mail and we'll take care of you.

It seems like lately, well at least these last two months that when I thought I would have more time to write, life jumped up in front of me. The 1967 Camaro didn't make it to the "World of Wheels" after all. There were a few things that came up and when they did, it changed the whole outcome and the completion date. They Camaro has been painted now and today Ken along with his son Mark, the painter of the car picked up the motor, transmission and headers. Their family is so nice, I wish I could tell you. I would just like to say how thankful and blessed I am. Rick Bradley introduced me to them a long time ago and for that I also think Rick.

We are hoping that we get the Camaro back in the garage and fully assembled within the next month. That also means that we are not going to be able to make it to the Mecum Auto Auction either. So, Mecum has another auction coming up May 13-17 and we are definitely going to be ready by the then. I also need to see what Barrett Jackson and Arizona has going on. Maybe, it could even sell their.

Stay dry in the rainy season, I'll probably see you somewhere soon.

Rick

I hope the first month of this new year has treated you well. I know it's been a while since I posted anything. So far this first month has been a roller coaster ride for me. The good news is positive changes now has a new board. They have wonderful ideas about how to help positive changes move ahead for this upcoming year. Sometimes I feel like I have been chosen to do something that will eventually make other lives better. With the group of people that has been formed, I know positive changes has a great year ahead. Now on the not so good side. Two people in the last six days that I cared about deeply, have passed away. I have known them both since I was about 10 years old. One of them was my best friends grandmother. The other was one of my fathers friends for over 30 years. Since my father's passing four years ago and my dad's friend only living a few houses away, we had become very good friends also. I hope their souls find each other and just maybe they can have a good old time once again. With life being so fragile, I still do not understand why kids are killing each other over the outcome of a high school basketball game. Just tonight earlier on the Channel 9 news there was a news update that high school age kids had automatic weapons shooting at each other and luckily only five people were hit with stray bullets that did Not cause any casualties. Have a good and safe weekend. Rick

I hope you have a Happy New Year and have had a very Merry Christmas. Positive Changes is looking to have a wonderful new year and we are grateful for all the support and help everyone has shown us through this past year. We hope everyone will continue showing their support of Positive Changes through the new year.
The 1967 Camaro that we are in the process of bringing it up to show car quality and streetcar legalities and even a National Hot Rod Association legal drag racing car is almost ready to go in for a New paint job. It will be on display at the World of Wheels car show at Bartle Hall starting February 27 through March 1, 2009. I hope we're able to raise a fairly good amount of money for this car. All the proceeds that a car is able to raise will be donated to Positive Changes. If you have any questions about the 1967 Camaro please contact myself through our contact information on this website. I've got to get back to work on the car. Rick

First, I would like to say "Thank You" to all of you that helped us through the year. Positive Changes was able to help place 3 wheelchairs with people that greatly needed them and Positive Changes was also able to help refer those with information to which organization that could mostly fulfill their needs. All of this was accomplished through our network information referral service. Thank you all, Positive Changes couldn't have accomplished any of this without your wonderful help.
This past weekend I was finally able to receive my grades from my intro to Business and Business math classes. I receive an "A" in my Business class and a "B" in Business math class.

Bring on Christmas Break, I could you a little peace and R&R. Now, the last and final assembly on my 1967 Camaro. Stay warm and cherish those close to you. Rick

Finals are over and I think I did pretty good on both finals today. The part about today that I really enjoyed was the drive home after school with all the crazies. I guess it's because I lived here all my life and I think driving in the snow is actually fun. Some people may have never seen snow before so I guess driving in it the first time can be a bit of a challenge and even scary at times. Anyway, I hope all of you have fun in the snow, I'm staying in where it's warm.
Dr. Durrie has released information about A gift of sight program and if you haven't received an email about it please contact Positive Changes and ask about Dr. Durrie's program. Have FUN slipping and sliding. Rick

Hey everyone, just wanted to remind you guys of our luncheon at Garozzo's in Olathe on December 3rd from 11am to 1pm and through the month of December Belinda's Tropical Paradise is donating 10% of all Poinsettia sales to Positive Changes. As a side note here is a link to a video about my weightloss journey, to date I have lost over 40 pounds without lifting a finger ha ha :0) If you have any questions please contact me and I would love to give you some information. Today I am very cold, Rick

video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXI8wGTdL5w

website: www.parlyzd.isagenix.com

Angie, with Scooter's Coffeehouse raised $150 for Positive Changes. Thank you Angie, we really appreciate your generosity. Next week, the Olathe chamber coffee will be held at the Olathe Bass Pro shops, where Angie will present Positive Changes with a donation of $150 from Scooter's Coffeehouse. Also, I would like to thank everyone that helped Scooter's raise this money to help Positive Changes assist our disabled community.
Thank you all, Rick

This time of year definitely keeps me busy just trying to stay warm. I think now after having a week to adjust to my sun deprivation and the slight depression that it puts me in, I'm finally adjusted to it now. Honestly though, everyone needs to just take a break once in a while, even if it's only an hour or two. I know I do... please, everyone wash your hands more often and just a little bit more vigorously. Cold and flu season is upon us. Young children, older adults and people with respiratory issues should use some precautions into what they touch.
We are having two fundraisers coming up in the next month. The first one is with Angie at SCOOTER'S COFFEEHOUSE, November 15th and 16th. SCOOTER'S COFFEEHOUSE is located at the Southwest corner of College Blvd. and Antioch. Our second fundraiser will be with Sal at GAROZZO'S, December 3 from 11 a.m. ta 1 p.m. GAROZZO'S is located at the Southeast corner of Santa Fe and Mur-Len. Just wait till you hear what's on the menu. A House Salad with all the fixings, Baked Lasagna, Seafood Lasagna, Italian garlic bread with dip sauce that Sal said, "it is to die for" also, Italian cookies that looked just wonderful and even delicious to taste. Soda, coffee and tea are also included with your meal. I sure want to thank Angie at SCOOTER'S COFFEEHOUSE and Sal at GAROZZO'S for becoming a Positive Changes partner and donating a portion of their proceeds to Positive Changes.
I am looking forward to both of these events, also warmer days ahead. Rick

I'm sorry for all of you that were inconvenienced by our website being disabled for a few days. Okay, now we're back, and I have some important information to pass on to those that are not subscribers to our e-mail newsletter. This message was forwarded to me by the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns.

Kansas Mission of Mercy 2009
FREE Dental Clinic
February 20, 21, 2009
Manhattan, Kansas
United States National Guard Armory, located just east of Manhattan on U.S. Highway 24.

No Eligibility or Income Requirements
No appointments - First come, first served.
Serve Children and Adults.
Services include fillings, cleaning, extractions.
Doors open at 5:30 a.m.

For updated information, continue to check the following web site:
http://www.ksdentalfoundation.org

I hope to see you all soon, Rick

After being on an I.V. antibiotics for the past 3 1/2weeks I pessure sores are finally very clean and ready for the final stages of wound healing. The major wound started from a tape tear that I received from one of my hospital visits toward the end of July. I am very excitied to hear how my wounds are healing and doing much better now. Also, I have lost over 30lbs and right at 6 1/2inches off of my stomach without even raising a finger. I have isagenix to Thank for that. If you would like to see the program I used to accomplish this go to: www.parlyzd.isagenix.com and see for yourself just how easy it really is. A moderately active person can sometime see results of over 30 lbs loss in one month and doing it healthy.

Fall is definitely here. With all my weight lost I get cold real easy now. Stay warm. Rick

WOW, what a busy past two weeks I have had. Between Positive Changes, homework and life itself I didn't realize that it had been over two weeks since I have written anything. On my last math test I recieved 84% and found out I still make dumb mistakes when I get in a hurry. I would of had an "A" if my subtraction on the first page of the test would of been correct. I have a test in each class coming up in a week and half. I feel much better about both of them now that I have "hopefully", the stupid mistakes out of my way.

Positive Changes has new brochures with updated information that we are proud to say, that Joel and his staff at Webphibian made it possible. We are currently looking for Positive Changes partners to help cover the printing cost. Your contribution will help print 1,000 copies. Your logo and contact infomation will be printed on the brochures and displayed as free information at the Olathe Chamber coffee infomation desk. Then, a link from every Positive Changes page, when clicked on, will go directly to your website.

After Bock's Steam Star cleaned my carpets, the allegery season has virtually disappeared for myself and all of my attendants. Thanks Brian, you guys did a wonderful job.

I'll try not to make the next entry quite so far in the future. Rick

At last weeks Olathe Chamber coffee, Kellie Gillen with Longhorn Steakhouse presented Positive Changes with a cash donation from the event held on August 21,2008 for $220. Thanks a bunch Longhorn Steakhouse we really appericate your support.

I received my grades for my first two tests. In business I received a "B" and in business math I received a "C". Actually on my math test I felt I did better than my grade showed. I forgot one formula on two problems. I know now what I did wrong, so live and learn. I need to get back to everything that demands my attention, so wish me good luck on my next test. Rick

Okay, now that I have the first two tests out of the way, I have a little time on my hands and I would like it to be what is supposed to be left of summer, and now the rain begins, with no sunshine to be seen for a couple of days. Oh well, I know I can find other things to occupy a few minutes of my free time before I start cracking open those books again. I think I did pretty well on both tests, but I won't know until next week how I did grade wise. As I woke up this morning to the Johnny Dare show, he reminded me what day it actually was. Seven years ago today we were dealing with something that none of us in the United States have really any recollection about, or first-hand knowledge anyway, it occurred to me that on that September morning seven years ago my father was still here with me, and we were discussing just how quiet it really was. Without any airplanes in the sky and most of the town glued to the TV, I really didn't realize how good we have it, but then today my aunt emailed some pictures of that horrific morning and all that we have lost. At that moment, I just had to say a little prayer for all those who are fighting for my and your freedom. Stay dry this weekend, Rick

I hope everyone likes what we've done with the website so far. We have a lot of hours in it and still have more to get completely updated. School lately has been kicking my butt, so I have not been able to write as much on here as I would like to. After I get these first two tests out of the way I should be able to devote more time to the completion of our website. If anyone has copies of the Olathe Chamber coffee Halloween Costume contest from 2005 or 2006 I would love to add them to our photo library. Have a great weekend, I'm going to call it a night. Rick

A pair of Quadriplegic Shoes, want to try them on?

You always hear, “If you could only walk a day in my shoes”…. Try these on for size and then think about your life.
Just imagine, for just one day, or even better, just one hour, sitting in a wheelchair or even just lying on your bed, unable to move, no matter how bad it hurts, no matter what itches. You can’t readjust so that you’re comfortable, YOU CAN”T MOVE! You’re brain isn’t really receiving that information, because you have an injured spinal cord. Now imagine, you’re on a ventilator. You can only breathe when the machine pumps air into your body. Then for some unknown reason, one of the tubes pops apart. You can’t move, you can’t talk, you can’t yell for help. All you can do is wait and wonder if anyone hears the alarm on the ventilator going off, or if they even care what it is. Just try to hold your breath for just 1 minute, ok, now 2, now 3….no cheating, you can’t move or breathe on your own, remember?
Now matter how hard you try to do this, it’s not even close to what it is really like. An able-bodied person passes out after a few minutes with no air and starts to breathe again when the brain takes over. If you are uncomfortable, you readjust your body to a comfortable position.
This is just a sliver of what being paralyzed is like. If you are at home, with friends, who just happen to also be your nurses, these worries are a lot less. But, if you are in a nursing home, these concerns are always in your head.

Rick Davidson, Author
Written November 12, 2004

The lunch benefit at Longhorn Steakhouse was a very big success and all of the photos have been uploaded too. I'd like to say "Thank You" to Longhorn Steakhouse and their management team for hosting such a successful event, also a big Thank You to Dana, Michael, Doug and all of the Chamber members for supporting Positive Changes.

Joel and his staff with webphibian, I can't thank enough because without them I would not be able to express how important these events are to the growth of Positive Changes.

To all my friends that were able to make it, give yourselves BIG HUGS, without your friendship and support I probably wouldn't have made it this far. I won't know for a few days the total amount raised, but I do know that it is going to be a great help for more disabled individuals and their families.

Now, I can catch up on a little sleep and R&R before the next great adventure. :) Rick

Today I was informed that I lost a very dear friend do to Diabetes and other complications. He'll be greatly missed and to all the other pride riders I'm truly sorry to see him pass. To his long time spouse if there is anything you need or would want to talk about I'll be there for you anytime you need.

Tomorrow I hope that everybody can make it to Longhorn for lunch, it will be lots of fun and great food. Also Longhorn Steakhouse is donating a portion of your total bill to Positive Changes to help make the lives of the disable people and their families more independent. Take care of each other, Rick

Last week went really fast, so did this whole weekend. I started college again last week and let me tell you what, it was even more fun than I could've imagined. I'm taking an intro to business math class and an intro to business class, I enjoy both instructors very well. Both instructors are very energetic and full of information that I hope I can learn and apply it to the best of my abilities. I know this entry was pretty short, but I have some more reading to do and it's getting late. I'm going to cut this entry short so that I can get a good night sleep. Rick

My surgery went very well and the doctor that did my surgery told my mom that my inside's looked perfect. That's always nice to hear after almost 21 years of being paralyzed. The doctors and the staff at Olathe medical center from the very moment I rolled in a very pleasant to be around and very appreciative of my staff and the training that I have given them. I also found out I was only 189 pounds this time so that means I have lost almost 27 pounds in a little over two months. Isagenix has worked for me very well and that's with absolutely no exercise whatsoever. If anyone would like to take a look at the product my website is www.parlyzd.isagenix.com and if you have any questions you can e-mail me from that page. Here's a thought for you, at some point we have all heard how God works in mysterious ways. When I started on my diet plan a little over two months ago we had no way to measure how much I weigh. At that time I had a problem with bleeding a lot so I had to be admitted to the hospital and that's when I found out I weighed 216 pounds. That's when I decided to start doing something about it. I knew in my mind that was entirely too much for my frame to hold without creating more problems. After I started my diet program I had one more incident with major bleeding and this time I needed a transfusion of 2 pints of blood. Knowing I didn't want to hit the third strike and possibly bleed to death and not know it until it was too late. That's when I really got serious about a surgical procedure that would greatly improve my chances of not bleeding again. This time in the hospital I was down to 206 pounds. I knew the diet plan was working, but that's been the doctor told me I would need to get stronger before we did the surgery and that I would have to wait another two weeks before the surgery would take place. Yesterday I had surgery and it only lasted about an hour and I was eating a late lunch and dinner to prove I was okay and possibly could be released the next day. Late last night is when I found out that I was down to 189 pounds and that's when it finally hit me that I hadn't had this bleeding problems I would have never known how much I weighed in the beginning were even two months into the program. My goal in the beginning was 40 pounds I know that in about another two months. Divine intervention is the only way I can explain. I'm glad there is someone looking out for me and I have finally found the path I think my life was intended for. I hope some way that each and every one can also find the path they're meant for in their life. Thank you for all your good thoughts and prayers. Rick

These last two weeks have went by very quickly. I didn't realize that I had neglected to tell anyone who wanted to know that my health condition the past three months had been quite a roller coaster ride for me. The last two hospital stays were very freighting to me because I almost bled to death just by being in my chair, on my butt a little too long. So now I am going into the hospital on Monday the 11th to have surgery to correct the problem. I hope anyone who reads this will say a short prayer for me to come through the surgery and be back on my butt for as long as I need to be to get all my crap in one pile. On that note its getting late and I need my rest so I am calling it a night. Have a great weekend! Rick

The Longhorn Steakhouse luncheon yesterday was a big success. I would like to thank all of those who helped make our event as successful and fun as it was. I would like to acknowledge the hard work that Joel with Webphibian and his employees put into designing this website, along with Dana and the Olathe Chamber of Commerce, and Helena with Executive Embroidery for the dedication that these individuals have shown to our organization. They have been great assets in assisting our launch of Positive Changes into the mainstream, and allowed us to move forward into our endeavors in assisting persons with disabilities to living their lives with as much comfort and independence as we can hope to offer. I would also like to take this time to give a special thanks to Longhorn Steakhouse, who with the assistance of Kellie hosted the event this past Saturday with success that was invaluable to our organization. Last but not least I would like to thank those individuals that joined us for our website launch party and taking time to learn more about what we do at Positive Changes, and helping spread the word of the assistance that we give towards other individuals and families. Without all involved, we would not be moving forward as we are today, and I am happy to report that the lunch was a success. Look forward to more events coming soon, and again, I thank you all for your ongoing support of our work within the community.