I have lived my entire life in either Wisconsin or Minnesota. I have become a well-seasoned veteran who has experienced all kinds of combinations of snowy, ice, and frigid cold conditions in two of the coldest states in the country. But for the past 16 years since my spinal cord injury I have also had to deal with the extra challenge those same winter conditions as a wheelchair user. This winter - this wonderful, glorious winter - was the best and most accessible winter season that I have experienced since my SCI, and the warmest of my life. Unlike every other post-SCI winter I've experienced, this winter I was never stuck inside because of a snowstorm, didn't have trouble finding parking spots, get parked in by people (more than usual anyway), have trouble wheeling around, get stuck in the snow or ice, have to bundle up like crazy, barely dealt with sub-zero temperatures, and had no van or wheelchair equipment issues due to the snow, slush, or ice, etc. So from my perspective this "winter" deserves a big ol' high five for treating this wheelchair using quad so well.  

Online Doctoring, Wheelchair Pretenders & Disability Cooking  

Turning to"Dr. Internet" 

About ten years ago out of the blue, I woke up one morning to mysteriously find my right thigh red, swollen and hard as a rock. Having no idea what was happening to me, I turned to the internet, not my doctor, to see what was up. It's easy, accessible and available 24/7, but is it always a good idea to use the web to find out what ails you?

Anderson Cooper Exposes Wheelchair Pretenders 

There's been a silent group of people out there known as "wheelchair pretenders" who've been lurking on the internet (and infuriating real-life wheelchair-users) for years. And now, thanks to the Anderson Cooper talk show, they rest of the country is getting the chance to be disgusted along with us.

Podcast #83: Canuck Quad Chef Cory Parsons  

Check out episode #83 of No Free Rides, featuring a dynamo chef with quadriplegia. He talks about getting over a spinal cord injury, and shares his advice on kitchen accessibility as well as some of his favorite recipes.  

Hello Friends! Now this is a tough blog entry to write, not only from a mental and an emotional standpoint, but from a physical one. As I am typing away on my computer, I am laying flat on my stomach in my home office, trying to heal a pressure sore on my bottom that I have not healed for about three weeks now. Notice how I said "I" have not healed. This is not about blaming anyone. This is about pointing the finger at myself and taking full responsibility for this health issue that could have been prevented and could have been healed much sooner...had I listened to my body. To all my friends with disabilities, please listen to the constant messages your body, via your heart, sends you. We already have so much that we need to do to manage our disabilities on a daily basis. We don't need setbacks or complications, especially when we KNOW that they can be prevented in some cases or treated more effectively in other cases. Do yourself a huge favor take care of that body because it is your transportation system to every experience you have ever had and will have any chance of having in the future.     

Read Post  

Clinician Resource