Preventing dehydration is important for anyone, but it’s especially important when you’re also managing a disability. When someone says “drink more water,” don’t just brush it off! All stages of dehydration have negative impacts. Early indicators of dehydration: Dry, sticky…
When you are first touched by paralysis, many will ask themselves, “What do I learn first?” or “Where do I start?” Kris Cichowski from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago shares tips on getting started. “It’s very important that you…
Paralysis often complicates how the body manages handling heat and humidity. This includes issues regulating body temperature, complicated by the fact that many people don’t sweat as much as before, or might not even sweat at all! Alex Jackson, a quadriplegic…
“At the very beginning when everything is so unknown and everything is so overwhelming, coping strategies are about getting through the day. Thinking about things one by one, step by step, day by day.” Robin Dorman is a clinical health…
It took this quadriplegic about 2 years to master opening double doors on his own. He came up with a method that allows him to open double doors safely and efficiently that allows him to travel to the mall or grocery stores without having…
What do you do when stuff is up high and you have to get it without a reacher? https://youtu.be/cPdUvzJkq7E Meg, a quadriplegic with limited hand function, has found a way to use a common kitchen broom to get the job…
Basic tasks like writing a check may seem daunting at first, but are far from impossible. https://youtu.be/-Sf_RaSSn80 Meg, a quadriplegic, holds her check book open with her left forearm and hand. Once she weaves the pen through her fingers, she…
Meg used to get things off her fridge with her broom (which is still a valid option), but now she has a custom made reacher. The reacher fits on her arm and operates by flexing her wrist up and down to…
“When I was first paralyzed, everything was so new, and everything was so hard." Meg, a quadriplegic shares about learning new things after her spinal cord injury. This included a task even as seemingly simple as flipping on a light…
When Meg leaves her house, closing a door behind her can be complicated from a wheelchair, especially when you have no abdominal control or finger movement. https://youtu.be/S3eVro0XgPM Once Meg is out of her house, she turns back around and faces the…