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Push Girls Episode 9 review: Freaky Deaky
In episode 9, get ready for some fun ’cause it’s the dating episode. All four ladies attend an art gallery opening together (and get lots of stares), Tiphany reconnects with an ex-flame (a guy this time!), Angela dates a hunk 12 years her junior and Mia goes kayaking on a first date. The Bachelorette has nothing on this episode. SPOILERS AHEAD **** The episode begins checking in with Tiphany and Angela. Tiphany is on her computer in the living and checking her dating profile. Tiphany says most people assume you have no dating life if you use a chair, but admits that being in a chair can make you more vulnerable.…
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Could Tiger Woods play like these guys?
By using either good old-fashioned American ingenuity or the very cool stand-up personal mobility device, the Paragolfer (also known as the Paramobile), the only handicap you have to worry about when you’re out on the links is your number of swings, not your paralysis. See with golf, creativity is key. It’s funny…so many people think golf is off-limits to people in chairs. But as long as you have the right equipment (and an open-minded golf course that doesn’t think wheelchair-users are the equivalent of lawn-wrecking gophers), you can golf. Really! All you need is some upper-body movement and determination to get out there. In this first video, Tim, a paraplegic…
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SCI Superstar: Sabrina Cohen
Sabrina Cohen, a C3-5 quad, saw her whole life change on Halloween in 1992 after she left a party with friends. All it took was being a passenger in a car (that decided to suddenly join in on a drag race) for her life to be completely altered. The car hit a tree, with Sabrina breaking her C3 through C5 vertebrae. But even though she was only 14, she started honing her advocacy skills from the get-go. In this video you can see one of the first speeches she gave after injury, where she speaks to fellow high school students on the power they have to say ‘no’ to bad…
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Getting hitched (on wheels)
Wheelchair-users get married everyday (despite most able-bodied people being shocked). No, we are not damaged goods; we are some of the most precious cargo around. What’s important is the love that’s shared between two people, not the car you drive. These two wheelchair wedding videos – one giving advice on planning a wedding if you use a wheelchair, the other showing the coolest first dance I’ve ever seen a wheelchair-user do – prove just how awesome our weddings can still be. And what I love about these videos is that they’re not about a bride or groom walking down the aisle, the media‘s favorite subject of late (we get it…
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My Gimpy Life trailer drops
I don’t mean to be bossy, but you gotta watch this trailer of the upcoming web series (a TV show available online), My Gimpy Life, starring my awesome friend Teal Sherer. When it comes to disability in the media, I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite as smart, witty and well, as perfect, as this. She’s a paraplegic actress in Hollywood (in real life) who plays a working paraplegic actress in Hollywood, and it’s a comedy (a damn good one). That’s all you need to know. Can’t wait for this series to premiere July 31st! Now, prepare to have your mind blown:
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SCI Superstar: Daryl “Chill” Mitchell
Maybe you recognize him from NBC’s Ed or maybe you remember him from when he could walk when he was in Veronica’s Closet. Or maybe it was that show Brothers on Fox a few years back. That’s what’s so incredibly blog-worthy (times infinity) about Daryl “Chill” Mitchell is that he’s had this amazingly long acting career, millions recognize him, but he’s managed to do all this despite becoming a wheelchair-user midway through his career. This was not something he had planned for (obviously). Daryl was a tall drink of water before his motorcycle accident. Being naturally funny, he was cast in dozens of TV shows and movies in the 1990′s,…
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Push Girls Episode 7 review: This Is How You Get Through
In this episode, Chelsie and the girls dish on men (sex in the chair revealed!), three of them perform hip-hop at the Abilities Expo (and overcome a move gone wrong) and Angela finally finds a casting agent who thinks she has a real shot in the modeling industry. This is my favorite episode yet (by far). SPOILERS AHEAD **** Episodes 7 begins with the utterly adorable (and god damn is she in good shape) Chelsie rolling up to Auti’s house for a dance practice session with Auti and Mia (for an upcoming performance at the Abilities Expo in San Jose), for their wheelchair hip-pop wheelchair dance group, Colours ‘n Motion…
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SCI Superstar: Shannon Murray
Some might say it’s ridiculous to think you could ever become a successful model if you have a disability. Definitely not true. Shannon Murray, a professional model and actress from the UK, didn’t subscribe to this sorry attitude after her injury (and to the delighted eyes of many). Shannon entered the disability world after breaking her neck in a diving accident when she was just 14 (while vacationing with family). She was injured at the C7 level, but was incredibly lucky and was able to leave the hospital a functioning T2 paraplegic (she had an incomplete injury of course). Growing up though, Shannon was all about acting and performance art.…
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Push Girls Episode 6 review: Fired Up
It was bound to happen, an episode that centers on the always delightfully controversial topic – stem cells. Drama ahoy (and swimming too)! SPOILERS AHEAD **** Episode six starts out with a nice shot of Mia driving her convertible, wearing black lace tights and a white lacy skirt. She meets Tiphany for a workout session, where they discuss the annoyances of working out so fiercely that you can’t transfer back into your car, and other such amusing foibles that only people with spinal cord injuries could get. I think it’s great the show is having the girls explain their abilities post-injury, in relation to their specific injury location, which is…
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Push Girls Episode 5 review: How Did We Get Here
This episode really struck a chord with me. It shows two of the girls, Tiphany and Mia, facing one of my greatest fears – speed dating. And Angela deals with the mixed feelings she’s having towards her husband, Dustin (who she’s separated from), who comes to visit her for a few days in LA. I hate to say it, but Angela is starting to drive me crazy. SPOILERS AHEAD **** Episode 5 begins with Angela getting her hair washed at the kitchen sink. Her PCA/Auntie Judy says the most offensive thing about Angela (not to her face, but still), “She’s like a baby,“ as she talks about how important she…
