SAN ANTONIO – Mike Conley is no ordinary author.
He was born with cerebral palsy, which has taken away all movement in his body except for his left foot, which he uses to control a mouse tied to a computer.
His disease has not stopped him from communicating and accomplishing his goals.
“I’m using this computer so you can understand me better,” said an automated voice coming from Conley’s computer, called a Tobii Dynavox device.
“This computer can be controlled by my eyes by using infrared light. Those lights are shined into my eyes and reflected on the screen of this computer. So when I look and dwell at a letter for two seconds, the computer will type it for me.”
He said the one drawback is that it doesn’t work well in bright rooms or in the full sun, but like with most things, he’s tackled that with humor.
“I really feel like a vampire trying to communicate with this thing,” the computer said for him, as his face lit up with laughter.
Conley has never lost his feisty personality or his determination to do what he wants.
So when he decided he wanted to write a book about his life, his thoughts, and his opinions, he did it.
It took a while, but the book was just released, titled “I Did It Mike’s Way.”
He even signed it in his own way, with a footprint.
Some of it reads like a journal. He’s lived in Japan, Florida, and now he’s back in San Antonio navigating life as a quadriplegic.
When asked what made him want to write the book, he said, “the American dream.”
Conley’s message to other people with cerebral palsy or similar disabilities is, “Keep on fighting,” the way he has.