The hand control system as installed by Hollfelder and Therkleson in the 355. Note the concentric ring behind the steering wheel and thumb switches on the spokes. "Easier to drive than you might think", said Carol.

The urge to compete had not been dampened. She knew that racing was not out of the question, for as well as Regazzoni, there were several driver's in the U.S. who were competing with similar disabilities. "I'd met several other drivers over the years. Evan Evans races off road. Wayne Rainey runs go karts,and there's a bunch of guys that race in SCCA club events." The question was, how far could she go?

Amidst the progress Carol had made in adapting to her paralysis, more tragedy was waiting. She had been dating a semi-pro football player, and in October of 1991, they decided to get married. "It was at my wedding that I first noticed the symptoms that would lead to a diagnosis of syringomyelia-a cyst in the spinal cord." It was a serious setback. She faced her first surgery for the cyst in February of 1992, and would battle with it until 1994. "Everything I had gained in the first four years was now gone. I had no sensation or movement below the middle of the chest", she recalled. Three more surgeries still didn't cure the problem. She also suffered weakness in her hands and arms, which fortunately didn't last. However, the rest of the paralysis did. "That was very difficult for me to deal with. It was almost worst than the original accident." By 1994 it was clear that the paralysis would remain, perhaps for the rest of her life. Her father, however, was still looking for a suitable hand control system for Carol's manual transmission cars. Tom was aware of Clay Regazzoni's 1980 accident, as well as his attempts to perfect a hand control system. In 1987, he wrote to Regazzoni, explaining Carol's situation, and how much she loved cars. Nothing seemed forthcoming, however, until 1994, when Tom got a call from fellow enthusiast Chuck Jones, who had been involved with the Ensign F1 team in the 1980s. Regazzoni had told Jones to contact the Hollfelders, because after seven years, he finally had a positive answer!

Regazzoni told Tom he was to attend the Long Beach Grand Prix Pro Celebrity Race and asked if Tom was still interested in hand controls. Both Tom and Carol were very excited about the idea. Regazzoni, along with three Italian technicians, appeared at the door of Tom's shop and proceeded to install the hand controls on Carol's Ferrari Mondial. An electrohydraulic cylinder operated the clutch pedal via a button on the gearshift which the driver then used in the conventional manner. Carol was beside herself. "I had the truly surreal experience of having a former Ferrari Grand Prix driver teach me to drive on my home town streets in my very own Ferrari! I could hardly stop crying. It was one of the greatest experiences I imagine I'll ever have."