by Tiff -

Wheelchairs and tent camping can co-exist | SPINALpedia

Tofu burgers on the campfire; my very first and very weird camping memory (hey, I can’t help it if my best friend’s parents who took us camping growing up were old hippies that also went to Woodstock).

Camping is in my blood and the videos below prove that you can still camp even if you can’t walk. Sure…it requires extra planning – you need to find a campground that has accessible sites, accessible trails AND accessible bathrooms – but if you ask me? Totally still worth it.

Before heading out, you’ll need an accessible tent.  And yup, they really can be accessible (you just need to think about your specific needs). If you’re unable to transfer onto the ground from your chair independently, you’re going to want to get a tent you can roll into; literally. And yes this type of tent exists too.

Eureka’s Freedom tent is the one and only wheelchair accessible tent that’s been mass-produced.  Read this entry

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SCI Superstar: Teal Sherer

Teal Sherer (yup like the color), whose an actress and paraplegic, has come a long way from the log house she grew up in in rural Tennessee. After breaking her back while riding in a car to Labor Day fireworks show when she was just 14, she found a new passion post-injury – acting – hasn’t looked back since.

After college, Teal decided to make the big move out to LA to pursue her dreams of acting. Her first break came in 2004, when she was cast in HBO’s Warm Springs (a film about the life of FDR starring Kenneth Branagh. She played a young woman with Polio. Loved this movie).

She’s also been in several national commercials, including one for Liberty Mutual insurance and another that I remember from awhile ago to get people to get out and vote.

And the past couple of years, she’s developed a huge online following for the character ‘Venom’ she plays (a member of the “Axis of Anarchy”) in the web series hit, The Guild. She is mean and wears a lot of black eyeliner. Watch out. Read this entry

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Wheelchair-users: What do you do when someone uses your chair as a footrest?

A disgruntled woman wrote me the other day about one of the biggest pet peeves I think most people have when living the wheelchair life.

People who have no qualms about using our wheelchairs as an end to a means for something they need to get accomplished.  Have no idea what I’m talking about? Let me explain.

The woman who wrote me told me that last week, while waiting for the elevator with a coworker, this coworker suddenly propped his foot up on her wheelchair and tied his shoe.

I don’t know about you, but if you use a wheelchair, this is about equal to someone putting their foot on your thigh.  Highly offensive barely covers it. Read this entry

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Just say no to wall-scuff guilt

Wheelchairs and scuff marks. When they happen they always make you feel like the bad guy, especially when you’re visiting someone. Great, now they’ll really remember me.

But I’m so happy now. Now, instead of silently worrying how I can make amends with the homeowner as I silently sit there feeling guilty as I sip my wine, I can now whip out my Magic Eraser tool, this crazy awesome wall scuff-remover tool (from the company that makes the Mr. Clean products).  All you do is get it wet, then scrub the scuff a few times and it‘s gone (but not if you damaged the drywall).

When I came home from the hospital, my poor mother. I think she hated me. I completely decimated her walls all 7 inches up from the floor (footrest level). It kind of bothers me till this day that my aunt and uncles are more worried about me scuffing their walls than about greeting me when I first arrive at Christmas (move stuff out of the way!).

But the wheelchair…the wheelchair…they’re so bulky and Transformer-like. Smooth edges?  Yeah…none be found. Read this entry

by Tiff -

Why I Run My Site

I received a beautiful letter validating the very reason why I’ve been running this site, Beauty Ability, since 2003.

It came from the mother of a 17 year old girl who recently found my site. Having “up there” confidence and thinking you’re beautiful is never easy when you’re a teenager, let alone when you’re in a wheelchair.

Hi Tiffiny,

I found you through my daughter Leanne.  Leanne has Spina Bifida and uses a chair.  We live in the country and she is the only person here that uses a chair.  She has gone through all of her life with no true peers and now that she is 17 and watching the world go on around her it has been rough. 

She has not been able to see any positive in her life for some time.  Throughout each day I hear “I hate my life” more times than I can bear.  Throughout her life I have worked to find opportunities to introduce her to the disability community, without success. 

by Tiff -

Push Girls: Reality TV Finally Finds Us

Push Girls - Reality TV Series helps those with spinal cord injuriesI wrote more about what “Push Girls” means to me for Easystand. Check it out:

Push Girls premiered last Monday, the new reality show on the Sundance channel profiling four “hot babes” in wheelchairs. As a babe in a wheelchair myself (hey I’ve been called that), this show is the televised messiah I’ve been waiting for.

The show’s premise – showing the world that you can still be beautiful, have a full life, a great job, have men that want you, and still drive a fabulous car (has been my personal goal since my injury).

You have no idea how frustrating it is for people to be shocked when you can achieve any of these things. A “push girl,” so say the shows producers, keeps on pushing despite anything that comes her way. I kinda like it. Read the rest of this entry…

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Jesse Billauer

The ocean can be a dangerous place. Sharks, big waves with multiple personalities, fugly Man o’ Wars, but you don’t have to tell Jesse Billauer this. He’s a born and bred Cali boy who came out of the womb with a surfboard attached to the hip.

Jesse, at 17, was living the semi-charmed life of a California teenager – young, athletic, gorgeous (still is) and staged to be one of the next big surfers; it was an idyllic life. But his world turned upside down in 1996 when the crest of a wave threw him off his surfboard.

Jesse hit his head on a sandbar and became a C5-6 quadriplegic on impact. Despite a severed spinal cord, which can be a tough SCI blow to receive, Jesse wasn’t about to say adios to a rock star life. If anything, his energy for life has only become more pronounced. Read the rest of this entry

by Tiff -

Push Girls Episode 1 Review: Everyone Stares

Oooh baby. I woke up this morning thinking I had nothing to look forward to except an ultrasound and a day of writing ahead of me, but then I saw the first episode of Push Girls dropped a week early. Post-Memorial Day weekend blues cured.

SPOILERS AHEAD ***

The first episode is titled “Everyone Stares,” which couldn’t be a better name for the first episode (that’s one of the first things you’ll notice when you use a wheelchair – everybody stares).

And as the 12 minute preview (released last month) of the series gave me hope for, the first episode hit every note – the reality of dating in a wheelchair, health issues (that can come up at the worst times), and grief…dealing with the loss of mobility, which even the bling and fancy cars can’t fix.

I think one of the things a lot of people with disabilities were worried about when they first heard about the show was that it wouldn’t portray the reality of life in a wheelchair; that the girls might too pretty, too rich, that they had above average support from family and friends (or all of the above), and so they were not going to support it; but from what I saw in episode one however was a very accurate portrayal. Their lives are not rainbows and sunshine bubbles. 

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar of the Week: Mark Zupan

The original tattooed hardcore wheelchair athlete, Mark Zupan is the King of “Muderball,” aka quad rugby, the crazy wheelchair flipping sport (you only wish you were as cool as this Austin, Texas dude).

He has the sexiest tattoos ever, more confidence than any guy should legally have….what’s not to love about this guy? Love him! Read this entry

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Sticky grip…I think I love you

They say that duct tape is the catchall product everyone should have in their junk drawer, but if you have a disability – hear me loud and clear when I say that sticky grip will transform your life, because it absolutely 100% will. Read this entry

My favorite use so far that I’ve seen online that has inspired me? Sticky grip under makeup compacts. Brilliant! Check out this woman’s awesome blog about life after a stroke, plus learn other cool one-handed makeup tips.