 |
Pamela James Moves Mountains to Get her Device
"It was on Oprah - I saw a man with the worst stutter I've ever seen." That is Pamela James, recalling the first time she saw or heard of the SpeechEasy device.
"I couldn't believe it. He became fluent right there and then. I went on the internet. I wrote to Oprah Winfrey - I did not hear back, but I was determined. I went on the Janus website, and I applied for the Sean Anderson Scholarship. I didn't win, so I started calling all around the country. And I finally found a place that would pay for the device."
That place was the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in Tallahassee, Florida. But there was a catch: they said Pamela qualified to receive the device for free, but she was not eligible to receive it because she didn't live in Florida.
But that didn't stop Pamela. She was on a mission, and as she recalls, "I felt like it was life or death."
So she packed up her bags, left New Jersey, and moved to Florida just so she could qualify to receive her device.
"I said to the person on the other end of the phone - 'Wait a minute! I'll move!' I couldn't get a job at first, but then I started volunteering for not-for-profit Communities in Schools in Florida, Inc. They help kids learn and stay in school and prepare for life. They started sending letters advocating on my behalf to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation."
James says it was not long before the letters reached the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and she was able to move forward with receiving her device. After being fitted with her SpeechEasy, she began to experience things she had never experienced before.
"I did a voice over for them at the end of my volunteering, with the SpeechEasy device. After the job was over I got a job with the local ABC station. I now work with the national sales division. And now, somebody just called me from California - and now I'm going to go on television!"
Pamela is extremely excited about what she calls her 'new life,' and she feels this is just the beginning. She describes her stutter before the device as crushing, that it made her shy, and that it was so severe she could barely say her own name. She remembers when her family used to have to speak for her, to go to the store for her, to interact with the world on her behalf. She says she knows the device is not a cure, and when she talks she does still have pauses and some stuttering, but her fluency dominates most of the conversation, and when she is relaxed and happy, it is almost undetectable.
"I'm excited, and happy and nervous. I can't even imagine what my life would've been if I stayed in New Jersey. I have a college degree, but I think I would've done so much better in college if I had found out about this a long time ago. I need to be speaking to people."
Pamela describes her stutter as an 8 on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst. She used to beat herself trying to get the words out, and she says people would think she was retarded.
"It's not going to cure (your stutter) over night, but it definitely will bring out your personality. I am excited about the possibilities, now that I have the opportunity to do something," says James.
And according to James, she is just getting started.
|
|
|