Five winning stories will be selected by a panel of judges, and the winning entrants will each receive an Amazon Kindle 2 as well as Dragon NaturallySpeaking upgrades for three years.
My name is Brad Hobbs and I am a faithful Dragon naturally speaking user. I write a daily blog about a passion of mine. I am a tennis junkie and since my accident in high school playing baseball when I dove headfirst into home plate and broke my neck leaving me a high level complete quadriplegic and ventilator dependent to breathe, I gave up on writing again. After my accident, was forced to dictate my thoughts to a nurse in order to do my high school homework. t was very difficult to have to share my private work to another person. I was really upset and as self-conscious as I was, I just couldn't be creative while someone was there to hear my every thought. Dragon NaturallySpeaking came along and changed everything.
I have become a huge professional tennis fan. I write a tennis blog and post a column practically every day after I watch tournaments from all over the world. I love it and can't imagine life without the ability to write so effortlessly and hands-free. The Australian open, the French open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open are my favorite tournaments and times of the year. I could be writing about a tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina and then one from Tokyo, Japan. Tournaments are all over the world and I live vicariously through these great athletes who get a chance to see the world. It was always my goal as I was a teenager to get a scholarship for football, baseball or tennis and go to a great college and hopefully play pro sports. My backup plan was to be a sports writer. I attended Green River community college near my home after graduating high school on time, despite missing a year and a half because of my spinal cord injury. I then transferred to a four-year university, Pacific Lutheran University also near my home. I have been writing since I was a kid, and I'm so thrilled that I don't have to stop writing because of my disability. Thank you so much Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Nuance. You literally saved my life. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't express myself through the written word again. I don't have any use of my body below my neck. I feel like Nuance has giving me my hands back and my ability to communicate again. My blog has received wonderful reviews and my subscription list keeps growing beyond my dreams. I've reconnected with hundreds of friends through Facebook and with Dragon NaturallySpeaking and its ability to seamlessly communicate online through the Internet, is marvelous. Friends are popping up all over the place on Facebook and they are all amazed that I'm able to write so fast not be able to use my hands or fingers to type.
I just have to thank you one more time Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking. You saved who I am and saved me from obscurity. Communicating is one of the most basic human needs, and now I feel alive and invigorated to write, write, write...
Brad Hobbs
29627 60th Court SouthAuburn, WA 98001-3000253-946-1200206-949-9292 [cell]bradhobbs12@comcast.net