When my sister suggested that I purchase Guitar Hero, I kind of blew her off at first.

Don’t get me wrong, its a fun game and everything.  But, I’m so not a video game player.

And, uh, c’mon…  I mean, for those who aren’t following along here, Tom is a C-5 quadriplegic.

Tom hadn’t been a big ‘gamer’ before he got hurt.  He was actually just starting to find the entertainment in racing cars and blowing things up with our PlayStation2.  Tom and his son enjoyed teaming up to run faster through the levels of whichever game they were playing at the time.  But, obviously, the PS2 was set aside after the accident since fine motor skills were not likely to return.

Guitar Hero?

Must I remind everyone that Tom was a guitar player before the accident.

(Uh.  By the way, Tom was a guitar player before the accident.)

(And a damned good one.)

(And I’m not just saying that.)

So, my sister suggested the game, thinking that it would combine two things that Tom enjoyed together, and perhaps sneak in some exercise at the same time.

Aaaaah, a clever one, she is!  (I love speaking like Yoda, just so you know.)

I thought about it for a while after she brought it up.  I really didn’t want to bring this game home and sit it in front of him so he could stare at it and be upset.  I wanted him to be able to play.

I went over to my sister’s house to play Guitar Hero once more before making my decision about purchasing it.  Yes, yes… it was hands-on research.  And, of course it was fun.

But, more importantly, I came to the conclusion that this purchase would not be completely pointless.  My sister is right.  I could see how Tom may be able to play the game after some figuring and situating…

So, I bought it.  And, I brought it home.

And Tom looked at me like I was crazy.

Then I put the guitar in his hands and told him that I just wanted him to try, and to have fun.

And, he did.

I really think he might enjoy the game.

Of course, after trying to play one song, Tom’s arm muscles were already burning from their intense workout.  And the next day we didn’t even turn the game on, since his arms had not recovered completely yet.

Guitar Hero is one hell of a physical therapy session.

I think we’ll start with one song once a week for a while.  He’ll work his way up, hopefully.

Of course, in the mean time, I’m working on becoming a kick butt ROCKST*R!!!