ORMOND BEACH -- Tom Davis stared at his gift, a wheelchair resting in the middle of his living room.

Friends and colleagues demonstrated on a laptop computer how a new, voice-producing software program they created for him would help in the coming months, when he can no longer walk or talk.

Smiling, Davis hugged and thanked his houseful of surprise guests for their generosity and thoughtfulness. Not a tear was shed.

It was a moment of joy in what will surely be a sad journey. Davis, a 70-year-old former math professor at Daytona Beach Community College, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) last November. Better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, the terminal illness shuts down the body, while the mind remains sharp and fully functional.

"Oh, this is so great of you guys," Davis said, holding the hand of his wife Kathy, a college counselor who is blind. "What you've done is spectacular."

Since June, Bada Dehili, a fellow math professor at DBCC, led a team that worked weekends and late into the night for no pay, looking to create a system so Davis could communicate his thoughts, concerns and wishes audibly to his sightless wife, doctors and friends.

"We decided that this disease wasn't going to shut you up," Dehili said, joking with his gregarious friend of 15 years.

Kathy Davis laughed and added: "I couldn't handle the quiet."

Dehili said the PE Communicator software program, developed by the 14-person Ormond Beach company he heads, Power Education Inc., will give Davis the ability to "talk" when he no longer can.

"I got some advice from doctors and Kathy about their disabilities and abilities," Dehili said. "This helps him in a miniscule way. But maybe it will help him so life is enjoyable."

With a simple tap of a switch, Davis will be capable of telling people anything he wants from several menus that can hold an unlimited number of pre-loaded, individualized commands. Printed words on a screen will be transformed into audible requests, comments and statements like: "I am feeling no pain," "I like watching the Seminoles beat the Gators," and "I love you Kathy," Davis' first request for the computer.

The personalized commands are stored under categories such as: doctor, shopping, food, entertainment and personal needs. There are also "help" and "911" icons, as well as a directory of single words so Davis can make impromptu comments.

"I told Tom that even if they put a tube down his throat, 'You are going to talk to me. You are not going to be si lent,'" Dehili said. "He'll be able to talk until the end."

Dehili already is preparing another personalized software program for a local boy with cerebral palsy, and he said a hospital is interested in buying a prototype for patients, which he expects to sell for between $500 and $1,000.

"We'd like to break even on this," he said. "We just want to cover costs."

Davis, a religious man, sees a purpose for his contracting the disease. He didn't have to look any further for proof than the laptop computer and wheelchair, a gift to him and maybe countless others in the future.

"It's just amazing," Davis said, looking at the wheelchair. "But what's even more amazing are the people behind it."

ray.weiss@news-jrnl.com

"I don't like work... but I like what is in work -- the chance to find yourself. Your own reality -- for     yourself, not for others -- which no other person can ever know."  Joseph Conrad