Quadcapable gets an Upgrade!
by Chris Case
Tuesday was a special day. It started out with a whole bunch of boxes being delivered to my home. Computer parts, a new build. Any PC gamer knows the excitement of those stack of boxes. CPU, GPU, Motherboard, Memory, Hard Drives, all the bits and bobs that make up the machines that we use every day.
There’s something special about unboxing them all, about the process of putting them together. It’s almost a religious experience and something that you can’t explain to those that have never gone through it. This build, however, was special.
As the Livestream Manager for StackUpDotOrg, I get to be involved with all sorts of members of our community, from the team that produces content on our Partnered Twitch Channel, to the volunteers that raise money all year round. I get to meet our Air Assaults at conventions but many times that’s as close as I get to our mission.
I’m not down range with the deployed soldiers, nor do I get to see the majority of local involvement that our Stacks Program is participating in across the world. I live online, I interact with people online, and I help make a difference online.
Tuesday was different. I got to put my hands in the guts of a computer, I got to build a PC for a member of our community through our Rigs 4 Vets program. Quadcapable is an amazing man. He’s a marine, he’s a former powerlifter, he loves gaming, and he happens to be in a wheelchair. He’s a quadriplegic, but most of all he’s a friend and a gamer.
He’s been gaming on an old laptop, trying to repurpose old Pentium machines to cobble together a gaming setup. Quad has an adaptive controller that he is able to operate with his mouth, and he uses it with, I’ll be honest, more skill than I use my Keyboard and Mouse most of the time!
As a member of our community we knew that Quad needed a new PC and as StackUpDotOrg is focused on veterans and gaming, we saw an opportunity to help someone that we know. I’m local to Quad so after building the PC, with of course the normal hiccups of any custom build, I was proud to be part of the team that delivered it to him.
HoustonGirlGotU and ShadowShifter joined me for the delivery mission, and I am happy to report that we were able to surprise this Marine with a brand new PC. We spent the evening with him enjoying an adult libation or two, installing all the programs he needed and just having a good time.
So much of what we do at Stack-Up effects so many people across the world, but being able to help someone in our gaming community, and for me, someone close to home, will forever remain one of my favorite Stack-Up memories.