Invention gives disabled freedom to golf

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WALLINGFORD — In 1991, Anthony Netto was a South African Special Forces soldier fighting in Iraq during Desert Storm and was shot.

After his long rehabilitation, while on his way to a golf tournament in South Africa in 1994, he was in a car accident that paralyzed him. A quadriplegic, through extensive rehabilitation he regained use of his arms and today he is a paraplegic.

Going through the combined rehabilitation process for the Desert Storm injury and car accident, and experiencing the secondary complications of being immobile, took a lot out of Netto, especially mentally. He was at a crossroads in his life.

“It was tough,” said Netto, an avid golfer prior to his injury. “During rehab I could have quit or I could move on and do something with my life. Meeting some members of the younger generation during rehab, one thing they wanted to do was to be able to stand someday.

“I started thinking out of the box to find a way to get people like me the ability to stand. Sports changes lives. I love to golf and I put the two together.”

Netto created the paramobile, also known as the paragolfer, 11 years ago. It is a three-wheeled vehicle with hand controls on the side. A disabled person is strapped to the vehicle with a seat belt, has straps around the legs and a strap around the stomach area. Using the hand controls, the seat rises to lift the upper body and put a person in a standing position. It can also be adapted for use by a disabled person if they have no legs.

The Gaylord Hospital Sports Association Program purchased one of the paragolfers last week and on Thursday Netto put on a demonstration during a press conference. Netto strapped himself in and proceeded to use a two-hand swing to crush ball after ball off the tee.

“This is something we wanted to get for a number of years,” said Katie Joly, Gaylord Sports Association Program manager. “We used it once at one of our adaptive golf tournaments. We like it and participants who used it asked us to get one.

Anthony Netto, of Nevada, a former member of the South African Special Forces attached to the British Royal Marines who was shot and paralyzed in 1991 during the Gulf War, and is the founder of the Stand Up And Play Foundation and co-inventor of the Paramobile-Paragolfer, demonstrates the moving standing therapy mobile device Thursday that was recently acquired through donations by the Gaylord Hospital adaptive sports program in Wallingford. The Paramobile gives wheelchair users mobility and a standing therapy, providing a better quality of life. It functions as a rehabilitative aid, helps improve circulation, and respiration, reduces muscle spasticity, provides pressure relief on organs and minimizes occurrence of pressure sores. less Anthony Netto, of Nevada, a former member of the South African Special Forces attached to the British Royal Marines who was shot and paralyzed in 1991 during the Gulf War, and is the founder of the Stand Up And ... more Photo: Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 35 Caption Close Invention gives disabled freedom to golf 1 / 35 Back to Gallery

“We have a six-week Veterans Golf Class program at Sleeping Giant Golf Course and we used it on Wednesday. The golfers loved it. The paragolfer is expensive. But part of the deal when you buy it is Anthony comes to you to teach you how to use it. He came here and trained our staff how to use it.”

The paragolfer costs $34,000 each. One reason Gaylord Hospital was able to purchase is was a $10,000 donation from Karen Scappaticci of Westport through the Steinberg Foundation.

“The Adaptive Sports Program here at Gaylord is my passion,” Scappaticci said. “This invention is something that will make a big impact here. I’ve been impressed with the demonstration.”

Claudio Cabrera, a native of Chile now residing in Cheshire, was allowed to test the paragolfer. An avid golfer himself, Cabrera became a quadriplegic after sustaining a spine injury in a car accident in 2007.

“This is amazing,” Cabrera said. “After my injury, I never thought I’d play golf again. It is so difficult to do it when you are in a wheelchair with all its limitations. I’ve watched these paragolfer machines in videos online and I was always intrigued by them.

“It really frees you up to have so much mobility when it comes to the golf swing. This gives you so much freedom.”

The paragolfer does have its limitations. It can’t be used on slippery terrain and you can’t go into a bunker if the lip is too high. But it can be used for more than just golf.

The machine is distributed by Netto’s company Stand Up USA, Inc. and his Stand Up and Play Foundation. Netto resides in Las Vegas.

“I prefer to call it the paramobile because it has so many uses,” said Netto, who routinely hits a ball 270 yards off the tee with his invention. “It can be used for archery, fly fishing, skeet shooting, you can shoot pool and it can be used for standing therapy exercises. With technology always evolving we are constantly looking at ways to improve the machine.

“In the military they say no man left behind. I say leave no man or woman sitting.”