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Remembrances

Michelle

As Ada’s main night nurse, I always looked forward to going to work. I enjoyed her witty sense of humor, down to earth attitude, and welcoming energy. She made me laugh with jokes about her being “Princess and the Pad” instead of “Princess and the Pea”. She was one of the most intelligent, logical, and realistic people I’ve met as she taught me quite a few things. She always used the tablet to say “please” after every request, and she didn’t hesitate to share tea, blankets, or her edible flowers in the backyard with me. I, along with many other people, will always remember her and miss her dearly.
 
— Michelle was Ada’s main night nurse.

Lisa

Dear Anna and Miro,
 
First let me say how much it saddens me to hear of Ada’s passing. I was fortunate to be in her life during her time in Mother’s Circle here in Georgia. I was always fascinated with her perspective on things as she was from another county, had learned a new language, etc. She was always very open physically, hugging, kissing, etc. I liked that about her. That and her smile. She was always very warm and inviting to talk to.
 
When she came back to Georgia to tell a handful of friends that she was diagnosed with ALS, I felt so touched that she included me. She was strong, clear and an inspiration.
 
During that meeting she learned that my daughter Chelsea, who had been in a severe car accident previously, had just bought a 3 wheeled bicycle. She was no longer able to drive because of a traumatic brain injury which left her with double vision, so this bike was her only source of independence at the time. The accident left her weak on one side and she was having a hard time riding up even the smallest of inclines because the bike was so heavy. On the spot, Ada offered to buy a motor for the bike so that she could get around either with her own strength, or use the motor to get up hills. I was astounded that during her time of crisis, she was offering me something like this. She followed through and sent the motor. We attached it to the bike and it worked like a charm. Chelsea was like a giddy little girl, riding all over. Freedom! It meant so much to her to have the ability to go down the street to Woodstock square on her own and do things without getting a ride from someone else. Ada was such a generous and empathetic person.
 
I will never forget the time we shared in circle. I’m including a picture of her where we all wrapped our heads in cloth. It was great fun to know her.
Anna, she always had a sparkle in her eye when she talked of you. She loved you so much, that was very apparent.
 
With love,
Lisa
 
 
— Lisa is Ada’s friend from Mothers Circle in Georgia

Teresa

To Anna

 
When I met your mother she said hello to me with such enthusiasm in her voice and light in her eyes that I felt a jolt in my heart. And I was happy to know Ada in my life since then. We became good friends and I loved her company, her clarity of mind and wisdom. I loved meeting you too. You look just like her; beautiful.
 
One of my most dear memories of the time we spent together was an evening in the company of other likeminded friends. A group of people who seek refuge in each other from the heaviness of daily living. We used to philosophize and discuss the fundamentals of life; looking for reassurance, clarity and strength in knowledge and understanding. That night she had the floor and her topic was non other than the place of Human Kind in vast timeline of the history of the universe. Talk about fundamentals. Again, her enthusiasm and devotion to clarity left me in awe. I had never thought of this. How insignificant we are in the face of such time vastness, but a the same time, how very precious. She gave us that gift that night. And she gave me many other gifts just as valuable since. I will be grateful to her forever.
 
She has a place in my mind and in my heart. And so do you.
 
Most sincerely,
Teresa
 
— Teresa is Ada’s friend from Mothers Circle in Georgia

Monet

I have had the pleasure of being Adas PCA for for about a year at Google. I remember seeing her for the first time with her head mouse, and communicating with her while she was using dasher and thinking, “Wow she must be a really important engineer.”  I was so taken back by the technology that she was using and was amazed that she wasn’t getting sea sick while navigating the screen, ( I sure was). From the first few conversations that we had together I knew that we were a perfect match for eachother. Between her witty sense of humor and my, what she called “sassy-ness” there was never a dull moment. Ada had such a passion for life and especially work.  She would often ask me about my goals and what my plans were to further my career. We shared the same hobby of traveling and experiencing new things. Our relationship quickly turned into one that was more or less a Big sister/ little sister relationship. I looked up to her and I cared a lot about what she had to say, and valued her opinions a great deal.
 
Ada always had a way of turning an uneasy situation, or an awkward moment, into a funny one. She had started losing the grip of her feet, (how she steered her wheelchair) and would often bump into things. She would often just laugh it off and we would continue on our way.  Well one day we were waiting for her ride outside of a building on a really hot day.  We proceeded to back up out of the sun, when she backed up too far and broke the front window of a building.  We both at first were shocked, then we laughed. Her response to the whole situation was a number, 176, to which i responded, “What do you mean?” She said 176 times i’ve  ran into something since you’ve been helping me! That was our relationship though, and she always found a way to turn things around to lighten the mood or, make light of a situation.
 
I’ve met a lot of new friends through ada, learned so much as a person and have been truly inspired by her work, her talent and her spirit. She is actually the reason why myself and a few other PCAs are still working at Google. She stood up for me, and stood by the care that I provided for her. I can never repay her for that and I am forever grateful.

 
— Monet was Ada’s Personal Care Assistant at Google

Eve

I remember when Ada first applied to the Accessibility Engineering team, in January 2015. At the time, she was an engineer in YouTube. She had attended some events from our inaugural Accessibility Week a few months earlier and learned about the work our team was doing. She wrote me a note saying that, after some soul searching, she decided she wanted to work at Google for as long as possible, and that she wanted to dedicate the rest of her career to helping people with neuromuscular diseases have access to technology. We met in person a few days later, and she was so clearly intelligent and passionate that I hired her on the spot. At that meeting, she taught me about Noman Clocks and said she wanted to implement them in Google’s technology. A year and a half later, she and her intern Sarah did just that!
One of our most fun team social events was we went bowling at Google’s on-campus bowling alley. Anna came too! I had bought a metal bowling ramp — an apparatus that helps wheelchair users aim and roll the bowling ball. But none of the bowling ramps were correctly sized for Ada’s electric wheelchair. So my husband Ramiro spent a whole day building a metal extender for the bowling ramp. It fit perfectly! When we got to the bowling alley, Phil demonstrated his bungee cord expertise, attaching the ramp to Ada’s chair. For the first several rounds, Ada would position herself in front of the lane, and then Anna would help by rolling the ball. But then Ada realized that she could raise her chair in order to angle the ramp and roll the ball by herself. She was very adamant that Anna no longer roll the ball for her! Ada did great; she got one of the top scores on the team. Months later, Ada told me that was one of her happiest days on the team.
 

Ada and Phil

Video:(TODO:miro insert YouTube link)
 
Ada was so happy when she learned I was pregnant. She would stop me in the hallway and ask me how I was and give me advice. She enjoyed talking about her own experience being pregnant with Anna — pregnancy was a wonderful experience for her! I remember thinking about her advice as I filled out the delivery preferences form for the hospital; my baby Oliver avoided silver nitrate on his eyes thanks to Ada’s advice. Oliver regularly had the hiccups in utero. Ada said that Anna did, too, and that Ada and Miro nicknamed her “Hiccup”! During my baby shower, Phil gave me a “children’s” book called “Go the F*ck to Sleep”. Ada smiled excitedly and said she knew it well. Perhaps it was hard to get Anna to go to sleep as a baby (Oliver is the same)!  🙂
— Eve was Ada’s boss and then her boss’ boss at the Accessibility Engineering team at Google

Astrid

Memories of Ada (by Astrid)

 
I first met Ada before I actually met her. And that was through her standing up at TGIF and asking a question that challenged our leadership in regard to investing ourselves into helping those who might need technology support more than anyone else. Ada told her personal story in front of Google at that TGIF QA and her quest was one of the moments that motivated me personally the most to invest my very best into accessibility and making technology work for everyone including all the people who have ALS. I also cried when she spoke. Remotely while watching. And I remember how I told others about that inspirational engineer from YouTube who got up in front of Larry and Sergey and raised her voice for many others.
 
A few weeks later Eve introduced us to Ada in person. Ada was joining our team. From the very first moment Ada enriched the team with her humor, her smile and her great thoughts, ideas and engineering work. While it was painful to see how she lost more and more of her mobility and abilities, it was inspiring to see how she managed it.
 
And Ada didn’t only manage herself, she even continued to work. Dasha developed under her leadership further because she was the user herself. I know it gave her strength to know that she spent her time and energy on developing a product that will help many other people in similar conditions. And I hope it will give you comfort to know that your mother, partner and friend was a highly respected engineer that we as her last team will never forget and that people who have never met her would say thank you to if they could for all her great work in the space of accessibility.
 
Ada’s email signature always contained a smiley at the end. And that is how I remember her.
 
— Astrid was Ada’s coworker at the Accessibility Engineering team at Google

Anna

She treated technical projects very much the way you would expect someone to treat beloved pets. Nomon clocks come to mind. After spending a summer working on a prototype with her intern, Sarah, and doing UX testing, she was preparing for a tracheotomy. One of her concerns was the future of Nomon Clocks.
 
One thing I found both impressive and a little bit amusing is that Ada would always try to make sure that she wasn’t being a burden on others, even – or, maybe, especially – when she was stuck. One time, we were in the lobby of 1945 trying to figure out why she was unable to control her wheelchair. Between her humor, her suggestions on things to check, and my texting Miro for additional recommendations, Ada was also asking whether she was taking up too much of my time.
 
During Eve’s baby shower, Phil gave Eve a book titled “Go the F**k to sleep.” A few seconds later, Ada had pulled up a YouTube video of someone reading this book. (She may have had it bookmarked, but I’m not certain of this.) Everyone enjoyed listening to the first portion of the book.
 
— Anna was Ada’s coworker at the Accessibility Engineering team at Google

Austin

I’m a program manager at Google, and I worked on the accessibility engineering team with Ada.  My first day on the team (and at Google), I remember being very nervous as I went around meeting all of my new teammates and colleagues.  I remember when I met Ada, I was nervous not only because it was my first day, but also because I had never spoken with someone who uses the type of text to speech assistive technology that Ada was using then.  She turned around in her chair, smiled at me, and took a moment to type out her message.  She said, “Hi, Austin.  Great to meet you.  My apologies.  If I had known I was meeting someone new today, I would have worn better socks.”  It was such a light hearted statement that immediately put me at ease, and made me feel more comfortable on such a big and stressful day.  I only occasionally collaborated with Ada on some smaller projects on the team, but I will always remember her extremely witty sense of humor and incredibly inclusive attitude.  She was obviously very driven and passionate about her work, but she always took time to focus on the people around her and always made sure that everyone felt welcome.  She was such a fun person to interact with, and I will very much miss her brilliance and kindness on the team.

Ken

Ada as Mentor

 
In early 2016, Ada decided to take on a summer intern to help prototype her vision for a new Switch Access feature. Ada had never hosted an intern before. The plan was for Ada and her intern to work side by side, implementing the new feature, with Ada sharing her software engineering expertise with the intern.
 
In February, we interviewed an intern candidate named Sarah. It was obvious right away that Ada and Sarah were a great personality match. Sarah respected Ada’s talent and experience, and appreciated Ada’s sense of humor. Ada could see that Sarah was a capable student, and also had a pleasant easy-going personality.
 
Sarah started working with Ada in May, and I met with Ada at least weekly. Perhaps partly as a result of using Dasher for communication, Ada developed a powerful skill of concise purposeful speech. She didn’t waste words. On June 6, at the very beginning of Saray’s internship, Ada told me, “I’m a little scared. With my speed of doing things, Sarah is always waiting for me.”  Adults often have trouble admitting they are scared. They try to “tough it out” without help, but Ada knew that opening up to people often helps overcome problems. We decided I would ask Sarah about this.
 
We were both relieved to learn that Sarah actually didn’t feel at all slowed down by the interaction, and was quite happy working with Ada. But knowing Ada’s concern, to improve communication we set up a remote desktop so Ada and Sarah could share their screen, and Ada could interact with Sarah without the feeling of physically looking over her shoulder.
 
Ada and Sarah made a lot of progress, but both were relatively new to Android programming and needed to find a way to do a certain kind of animation. There were many options and the right path wasn’t clear. Ada again started to doubt her own ability as an intern host, and felt that she should know all the answers in advance. Again, Ada was willing to express her concern, which made it possible to talk it through. In discussion, Ada realized that her role was to help Sarah explore the options, and that for an internship to be interesting, it wouldn’t be possible to know everything in advance.
 
By the end of the summer, it was clear that Ada had risen to the challenge of mentoring an intern to work on a challenging new feature. We all learned a lot that summer, and in the end the code was working and Ada reported that it was cleaner than she expected!  At the end of August, Ada said, “Sarah’s internship was great. It made me want to come to work every day.”

Sarah

Ada meant way more to me than she probably knows, and to this day remains one of the people closest to my heart. I was her intern last summer, and she was the most supportive, inspiring, and intelligent mentor I could have ever hoped to have. She made me feel at home everyday when I came to work, which was important because I did not feel nearly smart enough to fit in at Google. She was also one of the funniest people in the office because, while her jokes were rare, they always had me laughing for far too long. She was the one who believed in me the most to be successful in my chosen career path, and her confidence in me is something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I will never forget Ada and the warm, caring person that she is. Thank you for believing in me.
Lots of love,
Sarah

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