Scott Howell

On March 14,  2025, 61-year-old contractor and carpenter Scott Howell arrived for work at the house he was building in Blue Hill, Maine. A couple of hours later he fell a short distance, landing on his neck, resulting in the complete loss of the use of his legs, damaging his arms and leaving his hands crippled. Now a quadriplegic, he is learning to adapt to a new life very different from his old one. He and his family are dealing with many expenses related to being a spinal cord injury patient. He spends most of his time in a powered wheelchair.

            Scott is an amateur musician, playing and singing in a band he helped found over 15 years ago. Although the accident has put an end to his guitar playing, he is focusing his attention on honing his singing and harmonica skills. He enjoys telling stories from the stage, some of which are true. Before the accident he loved paddling canoes. Not all of his canoes survived the experience. He loved to spend time stumbling around in the woods and hiking trails. A former farmer, he likes to fool around with plants.  He is married and has four wonderful children. Though things did take an ugly swerve with the accident, he likes to say that he has been dogged by good luck all his life.

           Scott is always looking for ways to relieve pressure on the skin. His current wheelchair is essential to an active life, but it is also his enemy in a sense, in that when he uses it he is sitting still, which can result in skin damage. As is the case with all quadriplegics, Scott is losing muscle mass and bone density in his legs with the passage of time.

             Scott is exploring a range of technologies to help with these problems. A standing wheelchair will get him off his behind and on his feet, relieving pressure on his skin, and, in conjunction with other technologies will help improve muscle mass and bone density. Being able to stand up at will also puts him on an equal footing in social situations. A standing wheelchair costs about $40,000.  He also hopes to be able to power himself in a recumbent trike combine with electrical technology that will actually allow him to use his legs over the road. This piece of equipment costs as much as $10,000. Finally, he hopes to be able to return to the woods and the fields in an all-terrain wheelchair. He is currently looking at a model that markets for about $20,000. Right now, the standing wheelchair is Scott’s priority. Every little bit helps make that chair a reality.

            Scott hopes that with the help of these tools he can promote the health of his skin, his circulatory system, and his musculature. He also hopes to return to some of his favorite places on his own land, on the road, on the hills and fields of Maine. He is hoping to return to cooking and preparing food at home and to be able to look people in the eye in social situations. He hopes that a standing wheelchair will allow him to work in the greenhouse and generate some income with bedding and container plants.

            Please donate to Help Hope Live in Scott’s honor today. Help get Scott off his butt and on his feet, on the road and into the woods. Family and friends of Scott Howell are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with a Catastrophic Injury. Scott has chosen to fundraise with Help Hope Live in part because donations are tax deductible for contributors and will only be used to cover medical and related expenses.