Get out there and do it, try things, push yourself
Before his diving accident, Andy Pedack had been a lifelong adventurer and thrill seeker, sometimes referred to as “an edge case”, which might pertain to one or more categories of life depending on the day.
He has always loved being outdoors, especially in the mountains or on the water, seeking the road less traveled (if they're even was a road). You would find him hiking or running all over the world, or riding dirtbikes, bicycles, snowmobiles, or anything else he was allowed to try. He was an avid skier since childhood and also enjoyed a little climbing, hunting, fishing, or whatever was an exploration or pushing limits.
His vocational journey was similarly varied. He received this mechanical engineering degree from the University of Washington and his Master’s degree in business (MBA) from University of Alaska. Prior to working at Microsoft and other technology companies over the last couple of decades, his earlier career included industrial automation, manufacturing, and construction.
He’s always enjoyed being a hands-on maker and tinkerer since childhood, exploring many trades in the shop automotive and construction realm. He designed and built their family cabin in Leavenworth WA where he and his family often go to get away from the busy Seattle area.
On August 6, 2022, life changed in an instant
A dive from a bridge into shallow water left Andy with a shattered neck, resulting in a catastrophic spinal cord injury and paralysis from the shoulders down. In that moment, everything he had known about self-reliance, resiliency, independence, mobility, and possibility was just as shattered—but it also sparked a new vision that has continued to evolve.
Through the struggle of recovery, he discovered how fragmented and underdeveloped the ecosystem for people with disabilities truly is. From assistive technology to accessible design, the solutions, if available, often fall short of enabling real freedom and dignity.
Andy, along with friends, family, and new allies in and around the disability community saw an opportunity— to look beyond disability as a definition of a person. We are so much more than that… What’s the rest of our life context? What’s our family situation? What’s our purpose in life? How do we enjoy life? What are our hopes and dreams for the future? What do we want to do for a living? How do we accomplish anything from the mundane activities of daily living to push pushing the envelope and exploring the world around us? What’s each, our own vision for adventure?
That’s where “rethinking life from the shoulders down” became Andy’s catch phrase in the months that followed his accident.
What does it mean? It means re-imagining how to bring together new ways to get things done with the benefit of the latest technologies and possibilities available today. Coming from Microsoft and the rest of his background, Andy and friends see immense opportunity to apply even just the state of the art today to make leaps and bounds change in the industry and ecosystem for the disabled community.
Exploring “the art of the possible” and an Open Innovation Network
If we can make a concerted effort by bringing together all we know, the people we know, and the resources we have, what can we not solve? Hackathons have become popular at companies like Microsoft in recent years. These are events where crowds of people together to collaborate in myriad projects across a range of topics and design challenges.
Andy took this to the next logical step to look at the world for people with disabilities as a perpetual hackathon. He envisions spending the rest of his life pursuing the problems and solutions in this arena with a growing network of friends, colleagues, partners and volunteers and donors along with all available technologies and resources they can bring to bear.
“We look around and see machines dancing with people, running, and doing backflips. Even if innovation were to cease today in the world at large, what might we accomplish with just the current state of the art of robotics and AI and material science if it were applied in a more concerted and complete way across the range of needs and desires for those in wheelchairs or other similar situations? Let’s get to it. “
It will take a village — A team of teams
Andy got together with his good friend Brian Caldwell, sharing in many adventures together over the past 35 years. Between the two of them they could create a miniseries on adventures, injuries, and brushes with catastrophe. Brian’s brother passed away from ALS over a decade ago.
Brian and Andy cofounded Access Abilities Unlimited, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to empowering people with disabilities to regain or retain independence through accessible solutions, services, and functional abilities that are taken for granted by many able-bodied people and society.
A declaration of independence. Motation Nation
We are building a working network and a supporting platform for incubating ideas and driving innovation. Our goal is to help individuals reimagine their lives and accessibility in the face of spinal cord injuries and related mobility disorders such as ALS, MS, stroke, and traumatic brain injury.
We work in conjunction with a broad ecosystem of technology partners, medical equipment suppliers, academia, medical providers, independent business owners, investors and donors, volunteers and members. We focus on missions, projects, services, products and design challenges that are tackled with adaptive equipment, technologies and services innovations that address critical needs for daily life as well as enjoyment of a fulfilling life with adventure and meaning. We attack these problems across a spectrum of moving the state of the art forward while also increasing access for all who need it worldwide.
