By Eva TAllmadge
PORT ANGELES — For only the second time in more than 10 years of working at Olympic National Park headquarters, Resource Education Chief Michael Smithton went upstairs.
Smithson fell 80 feet from a big leaf maple 30 years ago and lost the ability to walk.
But he went upstairs to talk with park Superintendent Bill Laitner recently.
Actually, Smithson rolled upstairs with the help of the Independence iBOT 4000 Mobility System, a product of Independence Technology.
Smithson fell while researching raptor nests in college and sustained severe spinal cord injuries.
Doctors told his parents he wouldn’t survive the night, but he did, and he went on to finish college with a field biology degree.
Two years later, he began work at Rocky Mountain National Park before moving to Olympic National Park 17 years ago.
“One of the big justifications for getting the iBOT was that this building is not ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) accessible,” Smithson said.
“There is no elevator to get to the top floor where my boss and the superintendent work, and I need to meet with them quite often on different things.”
The administration building at Olympic National Park is a two-story structure built in the 1940s.
Park officials have tried to protect the integrity of the original structure and its historical significance, which has meant the building is not wheelchair accessible.
“There were so many roadblocks in putting in an elevator,” Barb Maynes, public information officer for Olympic National Park, said.