Special guest Ben Parkinson tells his story at the Toby Churchill Ltd Open Day

Toby Churchill Ltd saw over 100 visitors pass through its doors on Tuesday 10 November 2009. Visitors had the opportunity to walk around the factory and talk to the friendly staff who design, build and service our products. The visit included a demonstration of the NEW Lightwriter^® SL40 Connect which can make and take mobile telephone calls using synthesised speech.

Our special guest for the day was army hero Ben Parkinson.
Ben lost his ability to speak and both of his legs as a result of fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2006. It is said that Ben suffered the worst injuries to be survived by a British serviceman. He has astonished doctors with his fight for recovery and is now able to speak clearly enough for his family to understand him and is strong enough to start to walk with prosthetic limbs using crutches.

Ben Receives his Lightwriter SL40 Ben has been using the Lightwriter^® SL35 to compliment his speech rehabilitation. On the Open Day, Toby Churchill Ltd and guests were honoured to hear more from Ben as he used both the Lightwriter^®SL35 and his own voice. Following his speech we took pleasure in presenting him with a new Lightwriter^® SL40.