Ian Mackay to visit and speak at Valley Medical Center on Nov. 2

If you haven’t heard of Ian Mackay, then we don’t know where you’ve been. But, if you really wanna know, you have a chance to meet him in person on Fri., Nov. 2nd as he visits his former rehab digs at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose.

Ian and his mother, Teena

Ian, a C2/ASIA A quadriplegic since 2008 due to a devastating bicycle crash, will talk about technology for when he’s in his wheelchair, in his bed and his brand new “smart home” that he and his family have designed and erected recently. You can learn more about Ian and his cause at www.iansride.com.

He was injured when he was a student at UC Santa Cruz and was taken to SCVMC for his rehab and then moved with his family to the Pacific Northwest following his discharge. Since then, the dreadlocked 36-year-old has made quite a name for himself by becoming an advocate for accessible trails across the country while learning how to use technology buried deep in the iPhone to make its features more accessible to users with physical disabilities.

In 2016, he rode his power wheelchair across the state of Washington from North to South — a distance of some 340 miles covered in 12 days.

Ian will speak at 12:30 p.m. in the 3rd floor dining room of the Sobrato Pavilion at SCVMC, 751 S. Bascom Ave., San Jose. He will also be at the Abilities Expo in San Mateo on Sunday if you’d like to meet him.