Disabled slam stereotypes in quad rugby matches

The ear-arresting sound of metal crashing into metal filled Squire Recreation Center in Danville as men in Mad Max-style wheelchairs slammed into each other during quad rugby games Saturday.

“It’s a mix of basketball, football and bumper cars, because we do run into each other quite a bit,” said Greg Taylor, a quad rugby player.

Athletes from the Carolina Crash of Charlotte, the Raleigh Sidewinders and the East Coast Cripplers of Virginia Beach played at the center most of the day Saturday. The final game featured the Crash versus the Sidewinders. The Sidewinders won 20-11. Continue Reading »

Quadriplegics Can Operate Powered Wheelchair With Tongue Drive System

An assistive technology that enables individuals to maneuver a powered wheelchair or control a mouse cursor using simple tongue movements can be operated by individuals with high-level spinal cord injuries, according to the results of a recently completed clinical trial.

“This clinical trial has validated that the Tongue Drive system is intuitive and quite simple for individuals with high-level spinal cord injuries to use,” said Maysam Ghovanloo, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “Trial participants were able to easily remember and correctly issue tongue commands to play computer games and drive a powered wheelchair around an obstacle course with very little prior training.” Continue Reading »

Funds needed to stem spinal woes

MELBOURNE is to host possibly the world’s first human trial to help cure long-term spinal injuries.

But researchers must first raise $5 million.

They hope the trial will help begin to restore bladder, bowel and sexual function, which are the first and most important steps for spinal-cord patients.

Eventually, researchers say, all such patients will walk again. Continue Reading »

Motivated Ms. Wheelchair hopes to inspire others

Cambridge, Ia. – Turn into their driveway, just past the alfalfa and hay field a mile south of this Story County town. Walk past her older brother’s muddy Ford F-150, up the accessible wooden ramp, and into the home where Angie Plager has lived for most of her 26 years.

“You mind if I sign a photo for you?” she says immediately, flashing her lively blue eyes as she whips out a photo and Sharpie.

Clearly, Angie is ready for visitors. She wears the same tiara and sash – emblazoned with “Ms. Wheelchair Iowa 2009″ – that she’ll wear at today’s “Day at the Races” event at the Iowa Speedway. Continue Reading »

Quadriplegic honoured for active lifestyle

Kaspar Shouldice has the ability to turn mountains into mole hills. Thirty seconds after meeting him, it’s easy to see why.

“Many people who hear about my accident see it as a devastating tragedy and expect me to be depressed and angry,” says the wheelchair bound Shouldice, a Camosun College student. “In my situation, it couldn’t be further from the truth.” Continue Reading »

The smile his parents could not live without

The heart-breaking story behind the Beachy Head tragedy

With his sunny nature and joyful little face Sam Puttick would have made a heartbreaking poster boy, smiling happily into the camera in spite of his devastating physical disabilities.

For these are the touching images which were due to be unveiled to launch a major new fundraising campaign this autumn for the charity Spinal Research.

With the slogan ‘Our Future Is His Future’, the charity had chosen Sam – paralysed from the neck down in a road crash when he was 16 months old – to symbolise all they are striving to achieve. Continue Reading »

Quadriplegic triumphs over tragedy to help others

Paul Jacobson, 45, will receive the 2009 “Victories of Spirit” Award from the Sharp Healthcare Foundation on Friday, June 5.

“If you’re driving along the back area near Costco in Poway, some of the stop signs blink. Have you ever noticed that? Well they blink because of me,” he said.

Paul Jacobson was referring to the solar-powered, enhanced visibility stop signs that were installed after an accident that radically changed his life five years ago. Continue Reading »

Would-be quadriplegic taking first post-accident steps at L.A. Marathon

When Tom Bolewski suffered a serious spinal cord injury 16 months ago, his doctors told him he would live out the rest of his life as a quadriplegic in a nursing home.

On Monday, the 49-year-old former electrical contractor from Saugus hopes to take his first steps since the accident at the finish line of the Los Angeles Marathon.

“I was told by several doctors that I would be driving a wheelchair with a straw (from my mouth),” says Bolewski. “I was told I would have permanent brain damage. Obviously, none of that is true.” Continue Reading »

Will Walk. Artwork by mouth painter Jared Dunten

In a unique mixed media collaboration shown at the Bass Concert Hall, Jared Dunten and Marty Butler challenge the viewer to intimately experience their journey that began under the big skies of West Texas. A journey both crushing and liberating that still continues today. The two cheated death and began their fight against paralysis.

April 2000 Jared and Marty were on a backpacking trip in Big Bend National Park. After several days of hiking in the Chisos Mountains they sought refuge in the tiny border town of Boquillas Del Carmen. A snap decision by Jared to dive into the Rio Grande River left him paralyzed. Marty had saved Jared’s life.

April 2009 A collaborative show is created that spans the nine years since Jared was paralyzed. These works chronicle the event that changed their lives and reveal where they are today. Continue Reading »

Train police to recognize spinal cord injury – inquest

Police should receive specialized training to recognize when someone has suffered a potential spinal cord injury, a judge has recommended.

The recommendation by provincial court Judge Ted Lismer was one of 10 included in an inquest report released yesterday into the death of Alan Earle (Sonny) Rupert.

Rupert, 47, died at Health Sciences Centre on Feb. 13, 2005, eight months after fracturing his spine while being escorted out of a Magnus Avenue rooming house following a domestic dispute. Continue Reading »