AgrAbility: Working to Keep Everyone Involved in the Family Farm
Reprinted with permission of
Utah Farm Bureau Magazine, Oct. 2009
AgrAbility: Working to Keep Everyone Involved in the Family Farm
By Jennifer Hobby, AgrAbility Program Coordinator
Contributions by Matt Hargreaves, Editor, Utah Farm Bureau News
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but no picture can capture the radiance of one smile from young Kevin Mouritsen of Young Ward in Cache Valley. Kevin, who is 18 years old, was born with congenital birth defects so rare that it does not have a name. Kevin’s parents Allen and Becky Mouritsen simply call it “Kevin’s syndrome.”
“Kevin’s syndrome” has affected his growth, lowered his vision and hearing, stunted his speech and limited his cognition. In spit of this, Kevin greets visitors with an enormous, welcoming smile and excitedly invites them in to watch a favorite movie.
Kevin was not the only child in his family to be born with this syndrome. The family had a younger son Scott who succumbed suddenly to a case of strep throat which spread to his heart and cased fatal damage. Scott was only three.
“Kevin didn’t have nearly the amount of complications that Scott did,” said Becky Mouritsen, Kevin’s mother. “We were glad when we finally found out what happened to [Scott]. We had spent many months feeling guilty and trying to figure out what we did wrong.”
Kevin has two younger siblings Sandra age 14 and Adam age three. Both were born without the syndrome. Becky mentions jokingly that as Sandra follows Kevin through school she is often asked if she is Kevin’s older sister as she is already quite a bit taller.
“I’m his big little sister,” Sandra says.
As is the case for many younger farmers, Kevin’s father farms and holds a full-time off farm job—chiefly for benefits like health insurance. Kevin’s mom, Becky takes on the responsibilities of not only caring for a home and family, but also a disabled child. Like a lot of farm families, the Mouritsens demonstrate an almost visible bond and connection with one another, a strong faith in spite of their hurdles as well as a commitment to stay strong and independent. This can be seen and felt as one interacts with Becky and oth other children. They radiate a clear pride in “or farm, our family and our Kevin.”
AgrAbility first met the Mouritsens in 2008. The family became aware of the program during an outreach activity at a transition fair for school age children with disabilities and their families. The request was a small but meaningful one for assistance in modifying the family’s tractor so that Kevin could safely ride with his father as he worked on the family’s farm.
AgrAbility’s program coordinator Jennifer Hobby, Case Manager Dave Ezola and a USU student worker, Braden Jensen went to the Mouritsen’s home to meet with the family, conduct an assessment and determine what AgrAbility could do to help Kevin be able to participate on the farm.
When the family bought the tractor, the implement dealer Burke Pitcher of Pitcher Slaes Farm Machinery in Lewiston, knew of Kevin’s desire to be a part of the farm and installed a small, bench buddy seat. During the course of AgrAbility’s assessment, Kevin’s mother Becky mentioned that despite his small size it was sometimes difficult to hoist him into the cab.
“He masy be small, but he’s strong,” Becky Mouritsen said. “He’s heavier than he looks.”
The family requested that the modificdations be made after the harvest because the tractor was in the fields. Jennifer and AgrAbility’s program manager Luke Petersen returned to the farm in Novemenber—ironically lon Kevin’s 18th birthday—to finishe the assessment and complete the modifications.
After working with the family and discussing some options it was recommended that an additional step be added to the tractor and the buddy seat be modified to put a back and a seatbelt on for additional safety and comfort.
That afternoon, Jennifer and Luke took the plans to Stan Clelland at Utah State University’s Assistive Technology (AT) lab. AgrAbility and the Utah Assistive Technology Program (UATP) which oversees the lab have had a partnership since the introduction of the AgrAbility project to Utah in 1998. During that time, the UATP program and especially Stan and the assistive technology lab have collaborated on numerous projects to help Utah farmers and ranchers.
For Kevin, the lab provided a seat back designed for a wheelchair, some belting for the seat b3e3lt and some other materials to make the upgreaded buddy seat a reality. In total the AT lab’s contributions totaled nearly $300 worth of materials, but the value to the Mouritsens was much greater.
“This is a case where the cost is not the issue,” Clelland said. “What’s important is that Kevin can spend the time with his dad, and be more independent.”
The additions made by the lab also brought peace of mind for Kevin’s parents.
“I’m glad that he’s a lot safer while riding in the tractor now,” said Allen Mouritsen, Kevin’s dad.
AgrAbnility also manufactured the additional step for the project. Steps are a simple modification that the AgrAbility program frequently uses.\
“A $25 step can do wonders to save a guy’s back, hips and knees,” Luke Petersen said. “Of ten the first step on a tractor is nearly two feet high.”
Assistive technology or devices that can help persons with disabilities are not cheap, however, and any assistance given to families is greatly appreciated.
“It’s phenomenal how much a seemingly simple assistive technology device can cost, let alone more expensive devices such as wheelchairs and lifts,” says Jennifer Hobby. “It can be impossible fore individuals and families to afford on their own.”
Beyond assistive technology, AgrAbility advocates for, and links farm families with, other programs which can help alleviate some of the terrible expenses which can come with having a disability, serious injury, or other health problems. It seems unfair, but it’s true that having a disability can be an impossible financial trap. Rural people have been underserved by programs such as Medicaid, vocational rehabilitation and traditional health and mental health services. Often these programs have disincentives for employment built-in, which is particularly unacceptable to our farmers and ranchers for whom work is their life.
AgrAbility of Utah is a free program set up by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help provide assistance to farm families in Utah who are being negatively impacted in any way relative to health. In many cases, it is the farmer who needs assistance after injury or even age starts to make everyday work tasks less manageable. However, AgrAbility of Utah alsso understand that to productivity of the farm is not just dependent upon the farm worker’s health but the financial, physical, and mental health of the entire family. For this reason, it is AgrAbility’s goal to help provide needed assistance to both the farmer and the farm family members.
“AgrAbility of Utah wants our state’s farmers and ranchers who are struggling with medical, prescription drug and equipment modification coasts to know that we’re here and able to help them access the help they need,” Hobby stays. “We also want to tlet them know that help in fact exists to support them in staying safe, helthy and independent.”
For Kevin and his family, a custom buddy seat added a visible and tangible means to increase his quality of life. Now Kevin has an opportunity to add a meaningful activity to his life and to the life of the farm. Similarly, AgrAbility professionals will continue to work with the family to assist them in navigating and accessing additional resources which can help alleviate some of their financial burdens and ensure that Kevin may be as independent and self supportive as possible. AgrAbility sees small successes like these as just as important to the future success of the Mouritsen farm as support offered to a principal operator or more expensive and complicated forms of assistance.
“This has been a great program to work with, we wish more people knew about it,” said Becky Mouritsen.
If you, or someone you know could benefit from the free services offered by AgrAbility of Utah please contact their office toll free at (877) 225-1860 or visit them online at www.agrabilityofutah.org.
