The fact is none of us know when we may be the victim of a debilitating accident or injury. One moment we could be going through our daily routine as happy as we can be and the next moment we could be struck down with a spinal cord injury or stroke and become disabled for life. One thing we all need to remember is to never say never. It is not always the other person, sometimes it hits close to home.
The following story is true and should be an inspiration to all of us. Continue Reading »
On the final day of the Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Premier Gordon Cambell told the press that BC would give $25 million to spinal cord injury research. Rick Hansen, a Canadian paraplegic athlete started an initiative to raise $200 million for spinal cord research. The Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that in addition to BC’s contribution, Ottawa would donate $13.5 million more to the Hansen Foundation over the next 3 years. Continue Reading »
The Winter Olympics were a huge success, bringing Canadians together as never before, shining a new light on our province, and proving that yes, we can do it.
There is a good chance, however, that Vancouver 2010 will be known as much for the Paralympics that followed as for the Olympics themselves.
For the first time in the history of the Games, disabled athletes were celebrated not for the adversity they had overcome, but for their athletic abilities. Continue Reading »
A sit-ski that started as an extracurricular project for some University of Calgary students will be on display at the Paralympics in Whistler, B.C., this week and may soon make skiing more accessible for disabled people.
The germ of the idea for this innovative new sit-ski came from a lift line conversation in 2006, remembers James Chew. Then an industrial design student working on his master’s degree at the University of Calgary, Chew was introduced to some members of the Calgary chapter of the Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing that his friend Derek Gratz had met in a lift line at Canada Olympic Park. Continue Reading »
TORONTO — Three years ago, Master Cpl. Jody Mitic stepped on a landmine in Afghanistan and along with losing both of his legs, he also thought he would never be able to play sports again.
But on Friday Mitic — who has run in marathons, snowboarded, hang-glided and scuba dived since his accident — was one of 40 chosen to carry the Paralympic torch in Toronto. Continue Reading »
Few football games have had as much impact on as many lives as that state championship game in 2002 between Everman and Burnet. That was the game in which Everman defensive back Corey Fulbright left the field with a paralyzing injury, a vertebral fracture.
It must have been difficult at the time to imagine that much good could have come out of such a situation.
But in the stands that day, Dec. 14, at the Alamodome, were Eddie Canales and his son, Chris, who a year earlier had experienced a similar injury while playing for San Marcos Baptist Academy. Continue Reading »
Paralysis doesn’t stop former football athletes from raising money to make life a little easier for youngsters who suffer catastrophic spinal cord injuries
Only the start of a football game bothers Kenneth Jennings, who blows into a tube and turns his wheelchair away from the action. Once the kickoff’s over, his eyes are glued to the field.
It was while he was returning a kickoff for Simeon High as a lightning-quick junior in 1988 that he suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury and lost all use of his extremities below the neck. Continue Reading »
He lives by the one word: Perseverance. His goals and dreams are being fulfilled with each challenge that comes his way.
He has raced in the Baja 500, along with competing in the Ironman competition while covering the 63 mile event in just seven hours, 14 minutes.
He has also competed in, and finished the L.A. Marathon fifth in a hand cycle, and even competed in the X-games in Los Angeles back in 2008. Continue Reading »
An Australian first University of Melbourne and Austin Health study will test home-based online rehabilitation with video games to give spinal cord injury patients the hope of regaining the movement of their hands. Continue Reading »
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On the final day of the Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Premier Gordon Cambell told the press that BC would give $25 million to spinal cord injury research. Rick Hansen, a Canadian paraplegic athlete started an initiative to raise $200 million for spinal cord research. The Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that in addition to BC’s contribution, Ottawa would donate $13.5 million more to the Hansen Foundation over the next 3 years. 
From school project to the Paralympics
TORONTO — Three years ago, Master Cpl. Jody Mitic stepped on a landmine in Afghanistan and along with losing both of his legs, he also thought he would never be able to play sports again.
Few football games have had as much impact on as many lives as that state championship game in 2002 between Everman and Burnet. That was the game in which Everman defensive back Corey Fulbright left the field with a paralyzing injury, a vertebral fracture.
Paralysis doesn’t stop former football athletes from raising money to make life a little easier for youngsters who suffer catastrophic spinal cord injuries
He lives by the one word: Perseverance. His goals and dreams are being fulfilled with each challenge that comes his way.