Spalding Redefines Limited Mobility with the Help of AMS Vans Inc

posted on Jun 09 by Stacy in the Featured Customers category

Having limited mobility does not have to limit someone’s mobility. Gene Spalding is an engineer for the state of Georgia, an outdoorsman, an avid car collector and dog lover. He is also a quadriplegic.

Surrounded by nature on a wooded 43 acres in Warm Springs, Ga., Gene knows he cannot get everywhere he wants to go in his electric wheelchair. He has lived without the use of his legs and arms for over 35 years. Gene is aware of his limitations — that does not mean he has accepted them.

Gene came to Warm Springs, famous for FDR’s Little White House and rehabilitation center, in 1992. He was working with the state implementing the Tools for Life Program, or as it is known on the federal level – the Tech Act. The program uses technology to help people live independent lives. Now he works with the Georgia Department of Labor to help disabled citizens get back to work.

His dedication to helping others has been recognized on both the state and national level. He has twice been a guest at the White House, once during the Reagan administration and again during the term of George Bush Sr.

Though he is comfortable among the dignitaries, Gene is most comfortable in the great outdoors. Friends of the well-known small town resident can find Gene roaming around his property in the “beast,” a vehicle specially designed for him by Adaptive Mobility Systems.

The beast resembles a jeep with its off road capabilities and open space. It is the frame of a Dodge Caravan, but with the AMS floor plan. The mobility sport utility vehicle is completely open in the back, allowing Gene easy access. Without this vehicle, Gene would be restricted to paved surfaces.

“It is an integral part of my life,” he says. “wheelchair conversion vans rest too low to go off road, so this allows me to go the places I want to go.”

Out of the three beasts in existence, Gene owns two. At one time, he owned all three, but sold the third to a friend he met with a similar condition.

The beast is just one of the rarities one will find in Gene’s garage. It is parked in front of an original Shelby Mustang, adjacent to a Mitsubishi Spider Eclipse and next to a 1973 Jaguar XKE convertible – a car he purchased a year after the accident that left him paralyzed. He is also working to restore a 1937 fire truck to donate to the Warm Springs Rehabilitation Center.

“People ask me why I collect cars when I can’t even drive them,” says Gene. “Just because I can’t drive them, doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I’ve loved cars for as long as I remember. I fell in love with Jaguars the first time I saw one.”

Gene’s voice activated computer is even named Jaguar.

Bob Boston, CEO of Adaptive Mobility Services says, “Gene is an energetic and inspirational man – He never quits! I’ve enjoyed designing these Mobility Utility Vehicles for him.”

Now Gene is able to enjoy his surroundings as he sits comfortably alongside his two dogs, Chewy and Repo, riding alongside the river.

“I like being happy,” he says, “and I want to stay that way. Just because I’m in this chair doesn’t mean I have to stop being who I am. It’s things like AMS designing the beast that helps me be who I want to be – not limited.”

Originally published December 2008.