Alexander Faliangas, who is from Greece, studies English and other subjects with his aunt, Maria Thanou.

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THE WISH: A COMPUTER, SOFTWARE, INTERNET ACCESS AND CELL PHONE

Computer would bring the world to disabled man, care-giving aunt

maria Thanou has devoted every waking hour to her nephew, Alexander Faliangas, since his accident more than 20 years ago. The two are soul mates, sharing the small pleasures in a visit from a friend, an interesting newspaper story or a trip to the library, which takes them an entire day.

It was as a young man in his native Greece that Alexander intervened in a fight between two men and was stabbed in the heart and left for dead. He crawled to the door of a shop and begged for help. The first doctor who examined him said he couldn't be saved.

Now, 27 years later and a continent away, Alexander, 45, shares a tiny apartment in Cupertino with his aunt. He uses a wheelchair. He is blind. His speech is difficult to understand for everyone but Maria, who is 74. In spite of his disabilities, Alexander takes an English class at De Anza College, goes to physical therapy in San Jose and studies a variety of subjects with his aunt.

Alex and his aunt came to the United States to seek high-quality medical care and rehabilitation services. The two learned English together by practicing talking and looking up words in a tattered dictionary they still keep. They even passed the citizenship exam in English, Maria says proudly. Alex's father died of cancer, and his mother, who remains in Greece, has health problems that prevent her from caring for her son.

``We like it here,'' Maria says. ``Hope is here in America.''

Because it is so hard to get out, Alex and his aunt would love to have a computer ($800) (3A) connected to the Internet (about $200 for a year) (3B) to give them access to information and news. Window Eyes software that converts text on the screen to speech ($595) (3C) would allow Alex to listen to information, and a printer ($50) (3D) would enable him to copy articles for Maria to read to him. A cell phone with a very modest calling plan ($240 for a year; the phone is free) (3E) would provide a safety net in an emergency; once on an outing, Alex was knocked from his wheelchair and they had no way to call for help.