by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Monika Kuszyńska

A lead singer of a popular polish band in the early 2000′s who went on to forge her own successful solo career, Monika Kuszyńska is a woman with a spinal cord injury you may not know…but not for long.

The funny thing, she’s been living loudly in her native Poland but echoes of her awesomeness have yet to trickle to the States, which is why we’re excited to bring her story to our readers. Very rarely do you see a paralyzed woman rock out like she does and at her elite level.

A soulful artist poised to perform in one of the world’s biggest singing contests – Eurovision 2015 – this is the unforgettable Monika Kuszyńska. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Michael Graves

You may have heard of Michael Graves’ before, especially if you shop at Target for kitchen gadgets. A man who had been paralyzed for only 11 years but designed both memorable buildings and high-style health products (and teaching design at Princeton along the way), Michael’s goal in architecture was to always be about making functional things more beautiful. And boy did he succeed.

Michael is the mind behind hundreds of stunning buildings all around world, including Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, California. He was a powerhouse architect since the ’80s and continued designing until the day of his death. A few health setbacks never turned off Michael Graves’ desire to design, it only fueled his desire to design.

His disability inspired him to start thinking about redesigning everything in the healthcare world too, from patient rooms to wheelchairs, and he’s come up with some beautiful stuff. Read on for the backstory of one of America’s greatest architects, Michael Graves. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Wes Bandemer

He may have grown up a country boy, but Wes Bandemer is no longer living the simple country life. This is former motocross racer has transformed into a passionate advocate for embryonic stem cells, having traveled to India twice. And the moment he has regained is huge.

But it hasn’t been an easy road. Wes had to work hard to find funding and still relies on a wheelchair and PCAs everyday. His dream of becoming 100% independent may still yet have to come to fruition, but he has big hopes it may one day happen.

For more on a quadriplegic who refuses to put a timeline on his recovery, this is the effervescently optimistic Wes Bandemer. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Carolyn Pioro

Fifteen years ago, Carolyn Pioro’s life forever changed. Carolyn was a circus performer for a Toronto-based company, Cirque Sublime, where she was a rope/bungee trapeze performer and trained with a group of three others on the flying trapeze. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Stuart Turner

A roboticist with a focus on drones, one of the best accessibility consultants on the planet and a well-known speaker who’s shared his thoughts with the likes of TEDx and WIRED, Stuart Turner is without a doubt one of the most tech-savvy quadriplegics in the world.

Also the founder of RobotandCake.com, a site dedicated to illuminating the importance (and possibilities!) of integrating robotics into assistive technology, Stuart is one impressive Brit. His main drive is to open up the world to people with spinal cord injuries.

A man with an eye to the future in a profound way, this is the amazing Stuart Turner. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Bethany Hoppe

Bethany Hoppe of Nashville, aka the “Rolling Diva,” wears so many hats she could open her own hat shop. A dancer, voice-over artist, college instructor, author, advocate, wheelchair athlete, public speaker, wife and mother, in spite of her disability Bethany has been unstoppable in the game called life.

Her journey however into becoming the fierce woman she is today began in an unassuming place – a simple dairy farm. Once old enough, Bethany left home, setting forth on a path that even most able-bodied people wouldn’t be able to keep up with.

One of the most vocal advocates out there for women with disabilities, and an artist at the very core of who she is, this is the amazing Bethany Hoppe. Read this entry

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The “Best of the Best” WCMX Videos

We’ve talked about the emerging sport of WCMX before. It’s hard not to profile these awesome videos. Whether you’re watching these fearless wheelchair-users throw themselves down steep ramps or precariously balance themselves on a stair rail (yes they do this), this sport is beyond entertaining.  It’s so cool you can’t take your eyes away.

So to celebrate our obsession with this new wheelchair sport, we’ve decided to profile three of the most impressive WCMX videos out there, and we found some good ones you surely will forgot for a very long time.

From an epic handrail contest to a throwdown, read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Shaun Doss

Whether he is at the skate park, on the court or out on the ice rink, Shaun Doss is at home. Injured before he was 5 years old, this little youngster has big plans to become the next big thing in the wheelchair sports world and he’s already got a great head start.

And don’t let his plans for the future fool you – he is still interested in walking again – and he has undergone procedures throughout the last handful of years to make this a reality; a great combination of looking ahead yet living for today that many see hard to strike a balance with.

But not Shaun! Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Amanda McGrory

One of the most successful wheelchair athletes in US history, Amanda McGrory is reigning royalty of the US wheelchair racing circuit. With four Paralympic medals to her name, including gold in the 5,000 meter and 22 marathon wins overall worldwide, she’s now a professional athlete with two national sponsors.

But adapted sports weren’t the first thing Amanda thought of after becoming paralyzed. She went through the typical morning period before discovering her life’s passion – wheelchair racing. Check out her story of fanciful wins below! Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Jan Scheuermann

A pioneer in the field of mind-controlled prosthetics, Jan Scheuermann, 55, is a quadriplegic on a mission to make the world a better place. She volunteered to be part of a groundbreaking research project to get people with paralysis to move prosthetic limbs using their minds, and she’s been making international news in the process.

Jan’s journey without question is one for the history books, and even though the research she’s taking part in is poised to help millions, it likely will never be able to directly improve her own life. And she’s totally ok with that.

Jan’s main hope is that the research leads to big time discoveries to truly help people with spinal cord injuries be more independent. Read on for her truly selfless and fascinating story. Read this entry