I believe that caregiving is an art. I wore that hat in many different settings, including ones where I also supervised other caregivers. However, I never expected to be a caregiver for one of my teenaged children. After my daughter Beth’s spinal…
Dealing with stereotypes is undoubtedly something everyone who uses a wheelchair has encountered at one point. Courtney, a paraplegic in her early 20s, shares her experience and her subsequent reflection on a stereotype she’s experienced. https://youtu.be/hmslfV6WQrA When Courtney was in her…
“Ever since I got hurt, I realized I still love to be in the water.” https://youtu.be/1T_uX36pg5g These are the words of Jesse Billauer who became a quadriplegic as a teenager when he fell off his surfboard. Jesse’s life revolved around…
Individuals with paralysis above the C5 level often require mechanical ventilation in order to breathe. Factors that affect breathing function Regardless of the nature of the paralysis, whether it occurs from injury or from disease, the two factors that most…
If you are a wheelchair user who loves to travel, you’ve probably learned a few tricks along the way. Or maybe you’re new to wheelchair travel and could use some pointers. Whatever the case, check out these clever travel…
My husband Jeff is a C4 ventilator-dependent quadriplegic. Our daughter Evie was four years old when he was injured. Now she’s almost seven. For the last three years, she’s been on this spinal cord injury journey with us. She’s watched and…
Kristin is a T9 paraplegic and demonstrates how she drives a vehicle using hand controls. https://youtu.be/eSUjDNgDA1U The hand trigger or throttle is mounted on the left side of the steering wheel. Kristin controls the hand trigger her left hand. She pulls it…
Sam has always loved sports. But when he became a quadriplegic in a motocross accident in 2003, Sam though his days participating in sports were over. https://youtu.be/2n2p3Mo9Pxg “I went through some serious depression. You go from, like, the top of…
Harriet has been a caregiver to her husband for more than 18 years, and she knows how demanding the role of caregiver can be. Here are reasons she finds caregiving so stressful. Caregiving is often lonely and overwhelming. Caregiving is usually a…
“Nothing in my accomplished life prepared me for the morning of May 27, 1999 when I walked into an Intensive Care Unit to find my 20-year-old son alive only because of life support machines of every type.” Laquita Conway's…