What I Learned from Building a Customized Home for My Special Needs Mother

When I was a boy growing up in Van Nuys, California during the 1950's and 60's, I remember waiting patiently by the curb so I could help my mother, who was using crutches, get up on the sidewalk. She suffered from polio, an acute viral condition, which caused a paralysis in her arms and legs. The world we lived in back then certainly wasn't designed to meet her special needs, but a lot has changed since then for people with needs such as my mother. A lot has changed for me, too. I am now a board certified orthopedic surgeon, still live in the San Fernando Valley, and still help those individuals challenged to complete simple tasks that most of us take for granted.