by Tiff -

Taking on the shower

showerI look forward to my shower almost as much as my first cup of coffee, but when I was first paralyzed this was so not the case. I could never warm up afterwards, and it never felt like it used to feel.

But now, just feeling just the hot water on my neck and shoulders is enough to make showering one of my favorite things to do now. I finally saw the light.

How do you use of the shower if you can’t walk?  That’s one of the first things kids always ask me. And well, it’s not just a matter of just jumping in the shower now. Things are a bit more complicated. And the answer? By either using a shower chair, a shower bench or maybe taking a bath.

But getting into these contraptions (transfers and the like) is the hard part. Here’s a look at some of the best how to videos what it comes to getting into the shower safely and securely, and some tricks of the trade too. Read this entry

Featured photo via Flickr member miriamwilcox // Creative Commons
 
 

 

by Tiff -

Bill Murray plays FDR in “Hyde Park on the Hudson”

I’ve always loved FDR. He made it cool to be in a wheelchair (even though he didn’t want the world to know he was in one). Ok, maybe “cool” isn’t the operative term. “Badass”….yeah, that’s more like it.

FDR essentially turned the word “invalid” upside down. You can imagine how excited I was then when I saw the preview for Hyde Park on the Hudson last night.

It’s a new movie profiling a snippet of FDR’s life in the summer of 1939, starring Bill Murray as FDR and Laura linney as Daisy Stuckley. Read this entry

by Tiff -

Ready, set, time to get old?

You never think about getting old after you sustain a spinal cord injury, but before you know it, you’re 18 years post (not cool!).

Staying healthy is huge in our world. Watch a great video interviewing 5 people 18 years post; what’s changed and tips galore.

Plus – two more videos, one of shoulder pain prevention, the other on pressure sore prevention (did you know you have to eat 3x the amount of protein when you have one?). Read this entry

by Tiff -

Three amazing wheelchair comics

Three hysterical comedians with spinal cord injuries:

Chuck Bittner (pictured), a C5 quad from New Hampshire doing some stinging self-deprecating “wicked” humor and Damon Rozier, a para from NYC, doing a “wheelchair lap dance.”

Also watch legendary UK Cockney comic (wc-user from polio), who passed away this spring, Tony Gerrard. Read this entry