I realized the importance of what he was attempting to do and the positive impact it could have on stroke survivors and caregivers. The day he told me it was working, he said he would give the device to his friend and maybe make a few more. I began to think about what he had accomplished and realized that he could help far more people than he could afford to give them away to. It was time to put something into motion. I sat Dan down and told him that we now had a moral obligation to help the people and that we could not simply stop. The system worked.
We found an intellectual property attorney, took the device with us and filed a provisional patent. The journey to help people had begun. Our search for healthcare professionals, caregivers, stroke survivors, business people, engineers, and others who would be interested in working with us began in earnest. Everyone we spoke to saw the possibilities but most of all they saw the potential to help people communicate. They picked up on our "passion" and desire to make this happen. Excitement ensued and the momentum to build the company began. Our vision to design a system for people that would help them to communicate was coming to fruition.
The O'Brien story cannot be told without the acknowledgement of all those, who, in the very beginning, stepped up to the plate for the stroke survivors and their caregivers in order to help us to accomplish the goal of the Survivor Speech Companion System. My husband and I are forever grateful for all of you who believed in us and stepped forward to help us, and those we are trying to help, in so many different ways.
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