Career change is right near the top of the list of stressful life events even when it’s a good thing, exciting and voluntary. For Gerry Price it didn’t start off that way, but 10 years after he was forced into it, he sees it as an opportunity that he wouldn’t have taken otherwise.
    On March 27, 1995, Price was up a ladder on Salt Spring Island, trimming a tree. It was part of his job. He was the only full-time employee of the Capital Region District’s engineering department on the island. He’d worked there for 15 years. Before that he worked for the Greater Vancouver Regional District.
    “I was a government employee,” he said.
    The closest he came to being an entrepreneur was when he helped a friend at the Saturday market.
    Then he fell.
    In many ways he’s one lucky quadriplegic. His spinal cord injury is high – at his sixth cervical vertebrae – but has left him with a bit of arm movement and some use of his thumbs and fingers. Because the accident happened at work he’s also covered by the Worker’s Compensation Board, so he has a financial support system.
    Still, he lost his livelihood and his mobility. He spent 100 days in Vancouver General Hospital’s acute spinal cord unit battling an infection. Many of his skills were of no use to him anymore. And just how was he even supposed to tie salmon flies when he couldn’t even manage a solid handshake?
    “After the accident I was more introverted,” he said. “I decided that I needed to be more extroverted.”
    While he was in the hospital Rick Hansen had paid him a visit, as he regularly does with spinal cord injured patients. Hansen’s 1987 Man in Motion journey around the world had drawn attention to what disabled people could accomplish and to some of the barriers. His inspiration reminded Price of the possibilities that still existed for him and of all that could be done – and of what he could do.
    “I worked for the CRD so I could get involved in the community.” Price said. “I could put all of the upstairs meeting rooms out of business.”
    So that’s what he did. He started to show up at public meetings in his wheelchair. He joined a citizen’s committee with the Island’s Trust, so organizers had to move to a ground floor meeting space. He got onto the Island’s Trust building designs panel, where he talked to building inspectors about wheelchair access and other issues.
    But he still wanted to go fishing.
    Not long after his injury, while he was still in a rehabilitation facility, Price realized he needed some way to attach a sunshade to his wheelchair when he was outside. He remembered all the cool fishing accessories produced by Scotty, a division of the local company Scott Plastics (‘they’re like adult Lego!”), and with the help of a friend, he adapted a fishing rod holder into an umbrella stand for his chair.
    The light bulbs stared to flash.
    For the past five years, Price has applied himself to developing other systems that will let him do the things he loves and help other people live more fully to. The basis is the ADA Lap, a lightweight aluminum base that slides under a wheelchair cushion and provides a universal adaptive stem for a lap desk, camera tripod, a shopping basket or even a fishing rod.
    “I’ve learned a lot about patents,” said Price who now owns the Canadian and U.S. industrial design patents on the products. He’s also learned about marketing and partnerships.
    The ADA lap is marketed through Symmetric Designs, a Salt Spring Island based company run by kinesiologist Richard Hannah. Price has also connected with a California company that has flown him to trade shows south of the border.
    His lap shopper system is in place in 50 stores around B.C., including most Thrifty Foods, some Safeways, Country Grocers and Home Hardware. The system uses the basic ADA Lap and an attached shopping basket so people in wheelchairs have the convenience and safety of a basket that’s right in their lap yet not pressing on their legs.
    Price hasn’t given up on the community service though. He’s an ambassador for Rick Hansen’s Wheel’s In Motion to raise awareness about spinal cord injuries and especially how to prevent them.
    “It’s important to encourage kids to do sports properly,” Price explained. “To listen to their instructors, use the right equipment, move through the steps.”
    As a former competitive springboard and tower diver, he learned early the importance of starting with the fundamentals, building the skills and listening to the coach.
    Last year he worked with the Wheels in Motion event on Salt Spring Island that raised $7,000; half went to the community for equipment at Lady Minto Hospital and half to research. Since he moved to Sidney in November, Price has become involved in organizing and promoting Wheels in Motion on the big Island, slated for June 12.
    He’s happy to talk about spinal cord injuries and Wheels in Motion. And when he’s not doing that, or marketing, or teaching fly-tying, you’ll find him on the water chasing fish.

Gerry Price's passion for fishing hasn't diminished in the 10 years since he fell off a ladder and lost much of his mobility. He went from being a government employee to being an entreprenuer by developing adaptive devices.