Older Posts
A former manager at Marcus Pizza and a former detailer at a car dealership are some of the earliest employment experiences of Sean Costello. Once becoming paralyzed however, his employment journey had to take a more professional path. Discovering a passion for IT, Costello decided to make this fast-paced world his future. Read on to find out how he manifested this employment dream into reality.
Becoming Paralyzed
As a young man in his early twenties, Costello was a hardworking father when everything changed. He was hit by a drunk driver; an accident which left him a C3-4 quadriplegic. He was just 23 years old. After his injury however he worked hard to regain as much movement as possible.
Being from Columbus Ohio, he went to physical rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and underwent stem cell therapy. He was able to regain some mobility in his arms thanks to his hard work. Costello however was just as interested in getting back to work and he wanted to be the best possible dad to his son.
Finding a Passion in IT
With just a high school education, Costello knew he had to look for a smart path into the IT world. “My injury,” he says, “impacted my ability to work because I do not have use of my arms and hands being a high-level quadriplegic.” “Because of this, my employment journey has been applying for a lot of remote customer service jobs, entry level, IT positions, appointment setting positions and even survey taking positions.”
There are several IT jobs that can be done from home and many of these jobs are positions that anyone can do no matter their physical mobility, which is why he chose this field for his career. “I’m also looking for another remote position doing password resets, account unlocks, remoting into customers computers, ect.”
In order to use the computer and do his job independently, Costello uses some of the latest adaptive technology. “I use the Eye Gaze System, a standard 12″ mouth stylus and an Augmental MouthPad.” The latter is a high-tech device that lets you control a computer with your tongue.
And remote IT work is just the beginning of the career Costello envisions. “I’m looking to start my own e-commerce business as well, and hopefully get into rental properties and Section 8.” The key is to never stop striving for something new no matter your physical ability or education level. If you’re paralyzed as well and aren’t sure if you should even try, Costello has this to share. “Keep going. You don’t know how strong you are until you truly have to be.”
ideas@spinalpedia.com
