Chris Kerr is such a cool lady. I met her (online) last year, and have admired her amazing adventurous life since making her acquaintance. She is half a world away from me (Australia), and has an adult daughter and husband. She’s been injured for decades and hasn’t let her injury stop her from living her life her way (my kind of lady). She was kind enough to do a writeup on me for Platform Stories, a site in Australia sharing bios of women with disabilities to lift up other women with disabilities. Thank you so much Chris! Read the article here
Cats Steal Wheelchairs
Yup, it’s a thing.
I saw this photo today, and it reminded me why I like cats again.
Why I Will Not Be Watching the Sex & City Reboot
For all I know, Kim Cattrall doesn’t even want to be involved in the reboot, but I feel possessed to say something. This was the first TV show I binged after all. It holds a special place in my heart, but Samantha holds an even deeper space in my heart. Like deep, deep. Just call her Samantha, the heart miner.
As a young twentysomething woman, this show literally showed me, and women all around the globe, what our sex lives were capable of whether that be good or bad, but in Samantha’s case, it was always a very good thing. She was the best character in the show. And I’m not just saying that because I’m also blonde and have been known to have a voracious sexual appetite.
No. Kim Cattrall’s portrayal of a financially and sexually independent woman in her 40’s (gasp), was unheard of in any other arena of media at the time. And honestly, I can’t think of any other character that has been portrayed since Samantha that has been better when it comes to possessing these fierce fucking qualities.
Samantha in many ways made the world better for women. While the other characters wiled away, pining for a husband or crying over over a man that said goodbye on a Post-It, Samantha was on the offense at all times. She never let a man’s ineptitude veer her off her goals in life. Eh-hem…now why isn’t she returning again?
Sure, Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda are all adorable and look great in clothes, and I’ll admit, I squeed when their storylines had a happy ending just like every other person watching, but do I really care what’s going right now in their lives? Nah. The only character I honestly would love to see are right now is Samantha, and unfortunately she’s not going to be in the reboot. I’m afraid Jason Matheson from The Jason Show is right, and she’ll probably be killed off in the first episode in some funeral scene while the other ladies sit around her coffin wearing luxe black designer clothes and big sunglasses.
There are rumors that Sarah Jessica Parker did not get along with Kim Cattrall in real life, which is why Samantha Jones will not be in the new series. Really? Are they that immature to forgo such a monumental and important character over on-set emotions? Who knows what the truth is. Only those who are involved know. All I know is that Samantha won’t be in the reboot while so many minor characters are…and I simply cannot observe this travesty. My heart is broken.
Now excuse me while I go watch Mannequin.
#samanthajonesforever
Episode 34 of Life After Paralysis – Adaptive Surfer Ernie Johnson
I really, really enjoyed talking with the uber cool Ernie Johnson from Myrtle Beach, South (not North sorry Ernie) Carolina last month. Injured for a mighty long while, he has the paralysis thing figured out beautifully, and adaptive surfing is now his jam.
And I’m always forgetting to post here, which is going to stop starting now.
– tc
Listen below here
Where’s the Power Wheelchair Art?
There is an amazing trend going on in the wheelchair world right now – the crocheted wheel covers being made by Dutch designer Simeli.nl. These are fantastic and beautiful in every way. They make me want to take my old manual chair out of storage, dust it off, and buy a pair. Sadly however, I’ve been a full-time power wheelchair-user for years and these lovely wheel covers won’t work on my spoke-less wheels.
Power wheelchairs get no love. The beautifying accessories available to our cross-section of the universe are far and few between. Do you know of any power wheelchair accessories that enhance their aesthetic appeal? Am I uninformed about some amazing powerchair pouff that exists unbeknownst to me? 😉 Please share in the comments below.
Episode 7: Online Dating with a Spinal Cord Injury
In Episode #7 of Life After Paralysis, Tiffiny Carlson interviews two quadriplegics about the travails of online dating after their injuries. She interviews Rob Cella from Thunder Bay, Ontario and Brook McCall from Portland, Oregon.
Listen here
To learn more about SPINALpedia.com, visit: https://spinalpedia.com/about
To listen to past episodes, visit https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spinalpedia-theres-life-after-paralysis-show/id1460418405
Episode 6: Service Dogs for Quadriplegics
Service dogs make the lives of thousands of people with spinal cord injuries safer, happier and healthier everyday. The joy a service animal can bring to your life is priceless, but for quadriplegics, even moreso. The amazing tasks and companionship they provide cannot be beat. In Episode 6, Tiffiny has on three guests, all with quadriplegia, who share their lives with their service dogs. Show run-time is 1 hour, 21 minutes.
Listen here:
Guests Descriptions and Time Stamps Can be Found Below:
Guest #1) Erin Thompson (1:45 mins): A new college graduate from Minnesota, Erin is a C5-6 quadriplegic and her service dog is Mia. Follow them @miatheservicedoggo and @mizhoneybadger
Guest #2) Allie Leath (25 mins): A brand new service dog mama to Taylor, who she received this Summer, Allie is 32 years old and a C7 quadriplegic.
Guest #3) Dan Guillou (50:45 mins): Paralyzed for over 30 years, Dan is a C5-6 quadriplegic from Oceanside, California originally from Wisconsin and Narha is his service dog.
Life After Paralysis Podcast Episode #3: Adaptive Camping
In Episode #3 of Tiffiny’s podcast for SPINALpedia Life After Paralysis, we chat about the in’s and out’s of adaptive camping, with all-terrain chairs, cots vs. transferring to the ground, tents and accessible lean-to’s and more discussed. Three avid campers on wheels also join in – Greg Niedzielski, Jason Thurston and Ty Hockett. Run-time is 43 minutes.
Listen here or listen in the player below.
Congrats to Ali Stroker! <3
Having briefly met Ali 6 years ago at an adaptive yoga conference on rainy Saturday, I’m thrilled to see her career flourish! She won a Tony Award last Sunday for her role as Ado Annie in Oklahoma! and shattered the glass ceiling for actors in wheelchairs, becoming the first wheelchair-user to win a Tony. Here’s a bio I wrote on her this week for SPINALpedia
Congrats Ali!
Listen in: Chatting with Bob from Quad Podcast
It’s not very often I get a chance to talk about anything with another quad for so long. It was fun! Bob is in his 50’s, from Chicago, and has been paralyzed even longer than me. He is the host of the Quad Podcast (you should definitely check it out). Listen in as we talk about, well, everything. Link