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← Back to 2008

Farmer Undaunted

by Daniel Houghton
Jacob Wooley and his dad Larry Wooley start their tractors in the morning to move them back to their house. Jacob's dad usually works with him in the field throughout the day.
(2008 Daniel Houghton / The Mountain Workshops)Jacob Wooley, 30, welds a support bracket back together for his farming combine. Wooley is paralized from the waste down, and runs a large farm with specially designed equipment. Wooley and his father check over the combine and do minor maintance before going out for the day's work.
Jacob Wooley, 30, left, and his father, Larry, bolt a support bracket onto Jacob's combine. Jacob, who is paralyzed from the waist down, runs a large farm in Graves County with specially designed equipment.
Jacob Wooley, 30, lowers himself off his combine after a morning's work. Jacob has specially engineered equipment, designed and installed by the University of Kentucky to help him harvest his crops. Injured in a car accident in 2005, he continues to farm more than 400 acres of family-owned land in Graves County.
Jacob Wooley, 30, watches as he offloads soybeans into his neighbor's truck after harvesting a field.
(2008 Daniel Houghton / The Mountain Workshops)Jacob Wooley takes with his mom as she sets dinner out on the table in Jacob's hosue. Wooley's mom often brings him dinner.
Jacob Wooley, 30, streaches his legs every morning when he wakes up. "The doctors told me that I would never walk again, but they also told me I would never move my toes again and they were wrong. I want to keep my leg muscles strong so that I will be ready if I can ever walk again. I don't want my leg muscles shrinking like other people I see in a wheelchair," Jacob said.
Jacob Wooley, 30, gets into position to stretch his legs in the morning when he wakes up. "The doctors told me that I would never walk again, but they also told me I would never move my toes again and they were wrong. I want to keep my leg muscles strong so that I will be ready if I can ever walk again. I don't want my leg muscles shrinking like other people I see in a wheelchair," Jacob said.
Jacob Wooley, 30, hold his one-year-old nephew Luke outside his parents house in Melber, Ky.
Jacob Wooley, 30, puts his wheelchair in his truck to go to his parents house. Injured in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down, Jacob is very independent. He has hand controls on his pick up truck and a wheelchair that disassembales to fit in his back seat. "Jacob doesn't need any help. he has figured out how to do just about everything by himself," said Jacobs father, Larry Wooley. "He has more determination than anyone I've ever met."

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