by Tiff -

Slip, sliding (and swimming) independently

Float like a rock? I don’t think so. People with paralysis can do some pretty magical things in the water, and the water can do some pretty awesome things to us as well.  But a lot of folks with spinal cord injuries really don’t like the water. And the biggest reason we’re scared – we can’t swim (or we think we can’t rather).

This is why you got to check out our H20 inspired videos below, including an amazing video of a C6 quadriplegic who’s learned how to swim completely on her own (and with none of those silly floaties that always get in the way and always poke you in the face).

Our first video is pretty much the fantasy I have in the dead of winter each year – a tropical paradise where no one gives a sniff about litigation. Meaning – they’ll let quadriplegics go on their waterslides. This is the awesome opportunity that Chris Colwell, a C5-6 quad (and active member of SPINALpedia (who’s made 600 plus videos) took advantage of while living the high life in Dubai.

The world famous Atlantis Resort has a location there, and they have a huge water park called ‘Aquaventure,’ which includes a super fun rapids ride. Read this entry

by Tiff -

Make it burn (oh yeahhh)

Bally’s, the YMCA, Lifetime Fitness, getting a good workout if you have a spinal cord injury isn’t always the easiest thing. Sure, when you first get injured you get access to a physical therapy gym, but once you’re discharged, where then?

This has always then a pickle for spinal cord injured people. Watch these videos showing how you can still get a great workout, whether at home or by using simple modifications on machines at the standard gym.

In the first video, we’re sharing what is possibly one of the BEST exercise machines to be developed for wheelchair-users (and has been getting quite the buzz) – the Wheeler’s Paramill.

Sure, it costs a cool $4 k, but it can transform your exercise experience if pushing your chair long distances is how you get cardio. And it’s been making the rounds at the Abilities Expo this year (a great place to try it out). Read this entry

by Tiff -

Handcycling into the sunset

You got to love the handcycle. Bikes are no longer monopolized by bi-peds thanks to this awesome invention. As long as you have some arm movement, heck even if you don’t have any, you can use a handcycle.

Full-power, power-assist, traditional – handcycles work with any SCI level. Here are three videos showcasing the awesomeness of these bad boys, including one with built-in FES.

In our first video, watch a compilation of three different handcycles from Berkel Bike, a nouveau handcycle company from the Netherlands. They’ve gone and created a super unique handcycle that’s a fusion between a traditional handcycle and a tricycle.

Yup a tricycle, and it works quite well for people with spinal cord injuries. What I really love about this design is that your legs move passively as you pedal with your arms, enabling your legs to get in on the exercise-action too. And since it’s a trike, it sits a bit higher from the ground making transfers much, much easier. Read the rest of this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Darius Glover

Darius Glover is one of those tough as nails paraplegics we keep seeing more and more of. Why is he awesome? He’s the first paralyzed motocross racer to ride in a AMA (American Motorcyclists Association) sanctioned race, proving that yes – you can be paralyzed and still be competitive on a bike. So incredibly rad.

But racing from the waist up (he’s a T5 – T9 paraplegic) definitely weren’t in his original plans. Everything changed when at the age of 15 (while practicing for an upcoming race at the MX track “Field of dreams” in 2006), Darius crashed his bike on a slick double jump.

But even though his parents were hesitant at first (and even he wasn’t sure he could do it), Darius decided to not give up on his love and was back on a bike again within a few months of his injury. Read this entry

by Tiff -

My Top 5 Wheely Favorite Things

Check out my new monthly column for Push Living!

I’ll be profiling some of my top ‘Wheely Favorite Things’ each month – items, media, products and services for wc-users.

And here’s my first installment! #1 – The Wheel Comfort cushioney footrest (for going barefoot), #2 – ‘Manufactured 1987’ awesome high-fashion blog from a NYC woman w/ CP and #3 – The Sessions w/ Helen Hunt (a movie about a sex worker for disabled people). Read my other picks here

by Tiff -

Podcast 95: Scott Rains, inclusive travel expert

In podcast 95, Tiffiny is joined by inclusive travel expert, Scott Rains, a quadriplegic who’s been hired by tourism businesses and governments all around the world to teach them how they can become more universally accessible.

In this fascinating interview, Tiffiny and Scott talk about everything, from his injury in 1972 from a tumor on his spinal cord to how he retooled his career to become an inclusive travel expert. They also discuss accessibility in places he’s visited (and he’s been on every continent, except Antarctica), including a country he’s visiting often right now, Brazil.

Listen below. Run time is 50 minutes.

No Free Rides is brought to you by Easystand

Links:

– Visit Scott’s blog: Rolling Rains
[powerpress]

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Rick Hansen

There are a lot of awesome things about Canada, and Rick Hansen is one of the coolest things about this beautiful place. This positive man’s journey post-injury may have began in athletics (and boy did he kick butt there), but that’s not where his resume ends; it’s where it begins.

To millions of Canadians, Rick is known as the “Man in motion” for an amazing 40,000 mile journey that took two years to complete, wearing out 117 tires and 11 pairs of gloves in the process. Read this entry

by Tiff -

Vacay time yet?

Planning an epic tropical vacation…or dreaming of getting away? There are some insanely cool accessible vacation options out there, and the wheelchair-friendly resorts, places and activities only keep getting better. They’re so sweet in fact you may just forget the whole “not being able to walk” thing. Check ‘em out!

The first video comes from John “J2″ Mryczko, a C5-6 quad from Chicago, IL. He and his girlfriend went on an diving vacation to Cozumel, Mexico (considered one of the best diving spots in the world) and they went with the adapted SCUBA group, Diveheart (a really cool organization founded in 2001). And while he was not at all a scuba diver before this trip, he got the hang of it right away (even if it took 4 people to get him in his wet suit). Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Esther Vergeer

I love the Netherlands. They have really good pancakes, awesome art and if you use a wheelchair, they give you a sports chair and an entire year of coaching free of charge (ah-hem, moving there now).

No wonder this is the awesome place where the effervescently positive Esther Vergeer hails, the reigning queen of wheelchair tennis – winner of 7 Paralympic gold medals and 22 championship titles – unbeaten since 1999. Read this entry

by Tiff -

Wife of quadriplegic publishes beautiful ebook on caregiving

About six months ago, Dana Brown Ritter, the voice behind the disability relationship blog LoveLikeTheLife.com, guest posted on our site. She’s married to Michael Ritter, a C5-6 quad, and her blog highlights their relationship while she works as a television producer and journalist.

The guest post (“We Are”) she shared with us was one of the most popular posts from her site (read it here) – a beautiful poem dedicated to the wives of quadriplegics, and now she’s turned it into an ebook. Read this entry