by Tiff -

Wheelchair travel tips you can’t won’t find anywhere else

When I flew in a plane the first time as a wheelchair-user 5 years after my accident, I was so nervous. I didn’t want it to be a hassle, or rather “be” the hassle. I was hoping and praying it’d be quick and seamless.

It’s really too bad this video wasn’t available, showing how a wheelchair-user boards a plane (no you don’t stay in your chair. FAA regulations), when I was freaking in my early days. Had I seen this video, it would’ve calmed almost all of my nerves for sure.

And this video is loaded with wheelchair travel secret after another wheelchair travel secret; shared by seasoned traveler himself, Mark Schmidt, paraplegic and Vice President of EasyStand. What I love about this video is how he shares his tricks of the trade that you usually only figure out yourself.

In his video, you’ll learn about eight solid tips that I absolutely guarantee you won’t find anywhere else. My favorite is his trick in getting a free rental car upgrade. He also shows the process of checking-in (how early you should show up), going through security, arriving at the terminal, fanagling seat upgrades and more. There’s A LOT of tips here, so definitely make sure to take a look if you use a wheelchair.

Watch the videos on SPINALpedia.com

by Tiff -

So excited – Push Girls sneak peak

The Sundance Channel aired a 12 minute sneak peak of the Push Girls last night, and holy crap you guys, it looks better than I had hoped.

It’s not cheesy, it doesn’t have that “whoa feel sad for these girls” type of feel. No, the show has hit the nail on the head. I officially love the Sundance Channel for making this show. There I said it.

Hitting on guys when you’re out at the club, real life with your man in bed (“Yes I can have sex. Lots and lots of sex”) to being obsessed with wearing high heels even if you can’t walk, seeing all of this glossified on the small screen is very, very cool, especially for me personally; it’s like my life, but with a way less cool car (and I’m just glad to see a positive yet real portrayal of women with spinal cord injuries in the media for once).

In the sneak peak, you meet the four women starring in this new reality show, Tiphany, Auti, Mia and Angela. My impressions:

– Auti, a woman I’ve admired in the disability community since I was injured and have always coveted her rock-hard abs, turns out to be surprisingly funny. Who knew? (and I think she may be my favorite).

– And it is revealed that Tiphany, a gorgeous paraplegic (who I interviewed for an article I wrote in Penthouse last year called “The Would You Girls”), is now dating a woman. Crazy talk!

– And Mia, she’s super cute; love the clip were she’s rating guys as they walk by….

– Angela Rockwood? She’s insanely stunning. Cheek-bones to die for….cheek-bones to die for…

Push Girls premieres on the Sundance Channel June 5th. Can’t wait!

by Tiff -

Aussie wheelchair tennis players explain the game

I’ve been blogging for SPINALpedia.com, a very cool video site that contains thousands of spinal cord injury-related videos, for a couple of months now. What I love about this site (other than it wass founded by my friend Josh Basile, a really smart C4-5 quad from Maryland who’s studying to be a lawyer) is that the videos are categorized by movement – full hand movement, partial hand movement, no hand movement, and for all the other body parts too, making it easy to find a video that would actually work for you without wasting too much time (gotta love that).

My latest post for SPINALpedia.com highlights some of my favorite sports videos on their site. If you’ve ever wondered about wheelchair tennis, watch this video of two top Aussie wheelchair tennis players (one who is a low quadriplegic) having a ball, as they create a 6 minute video explaining everything about wheelchair tennis. You can watch the video here