A lifelong action sports film director who worked for Red Bull, Riley Poor had to re-tool his career after becoming a quad. Now an executive producer at Nike, he’s someone you won’t forget. Also a relationship blogger with his gf Andrea (Poor House Love) and a new fan of adaptive gardening, read about Riley’s life (and see his awesome universal accessible home) in the city of Portland here
Slingshot Golf is an adapted sport for folks of ALL SCI levels. An able-bodied assistant, and specialized slingshot and pendulum are required. See how it’s played as demoed by Josh Basile, a lifelong golf junkie and C4-5 quadriplegic who created this sport. Click to watch
Meet our newest SCI Superstar US Paralympic swimmer Mallory Weggemann! A lifelong swimmer, she fought back from an epidural injection that paralyzed her and in a year returned to the sport she loves as a T10 para. She won gold in London in 2012, breaking the women’s record in the 50m. Can she do it again in Rio? Read all about her journey, from injuring her arm in 2014 in a crazy fall to her wedding planned for this December, here
Meet SPINALpedia’s newest SCI Superstar Gordon Reid! At only 24 years old, he won the first ever men’s singles match held at Wimbledon earlier this month. Scottish-bred and born, this 24 year old is on-fire in the wheelchair tennis world. Read more
I have been on the internet for forever and these famous dance scene recreations from film by People Dancing, a community dance project in the UK (that was completed in 2014) are crazy good, and I’m only discovering it now! The dance scenes are beautiful, polished, humorous; really perfectly done. The exhibit is called 11 Million Reasons and it took an entire year to complete. The world needs to see this! Please share what they’re doing.
Sailing calls out to many people, and it definitely called to Harry Horgan, founder of one of the most established sailing nonprofits in the country. What started as an adapted sailing program 30 years is now helping both people with disabilities and underprivileged children experience the beauty of the open water. Shake-A-Leg Miami has undoubtedly changed thousands of lives.
Also a husband, brother, as well as a father to a teenage boy who loves sailing just as much as he does, Harry is a seasoned paraplegic who is many faceted, but his compass will always remain pointed towards sailing. His upbringing on the East Coast near the water had a strong influence on him, making sailing one of his top passions. Read more
One look at Peter Soby, a 47 year old C5-6 quad, and you can just tell he is someone special. Forget the wheelchair; you feel it the moment you look at him. A writer, producer, director, entrepreneur and motivational speaker rolled into one, he has done it all since graduating from college with his degree in speech communications.
And he hasn’t let his spinal cord injury prevent him from tackling this very image-conscious world. His whirlwind story may include a spinal cord injury but he’s followed his creative drive. For a taste of this life adventurer living in sunny California, read on for the unforgettable story of Peter Soby. Read more
Even though he’s only 30 years old, Rob Wudlick’s journey since his spinal cord injury has been one-of-the kind. A fresh SCI research advocate, newly injured people like Rob are refusing to accept spinal cord injuries as permanent, and what they’re doing to help the SCI community is helping in big ways.
Other than working out since his injury using activity-based therapy (and being one of the most positive guys in the gym), he’s a founding member and Chairman of the Board for a nonprofit dedicated to curing spinal cord injury, Get Up Stand Up (GUSU), and is busy hitting the pavement at Capitol Hill (in his home state or in DC) whenever he can. Read on for a snapshot into the life of an unexpected advocate. Read the rest
For the last 10 years a great event to further spinal cord injury (SCI) SCI research has been happening: The Working 2 Walk (W2W) Symposium – a 2-day event sponsored by the United2Fight Paralysis Association; and Spinalpedia was there!
We met so many impressive advocates with paralysis and heard the latest on several promising research programs, it would’ve been impossible to leave without hope. Please enjoy our W2W 2015 review. Read for more
Do you use a wheelchair and are on Medicare or Medicaid? Coming January 1st, 2016 a major change is looming and WILL affect how often you can receive repairs on your wheelchair (as well as any other complex medical equipment you own).
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have announced they will apply Competitive Bid Pricing (CBP) to Complex Rehab wheelchair accessories starting next year. This violates the true intent of past Congressional legislation and would inappropriately reduce payment rates for 171 product codes from 20% to over 40%.
Bill H.R. 3229, proposed by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) will stop this by providing a technical correction to clarify that that Medicare competitive bidding pricing to accessories cannot be applied to complex rehab wheelchairs.
To make this bill a reality and to stop the proposed cuts, please EMAIL and CALL your House Representative to get them to support the bill. To learn how to do this successfully, visit this link: http://cqrcengage.com/access2crt/HR3229
