BEIJING OLYMPICS: Third Olympics, a second chance

KAYAKING: Newport Beach paddler among medal contenders in sprint events following spinal surgery in 2004.

Rami Zur went to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece in search of a medal in sprint kayaking. He wound up instead with a titanium plate.

Now, thanks to some good fortune, good medicine and a lot of hard work, the Newport Beach resident and member of the Newport Aquatic Center is preparing to compete in his third Olympics in the single men’s kayak 1,000- and 500-meter events that begin Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Continue Reading »

Vet games: Exercises in bravery

Hard-driving Bay State disabled veterans brought home gold, silver and bronze medals after a week of fierce competion during the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Omaha, Neb.

According to Kim Byers, spokeswoman for the event, 500 military-veterans-turned-athletes – including at least a dozen from Massachusetts – challenged themselves and each other in what has become the largest annual wheelchair sports event in the world.

“You feel like it’s a true Olympic event. Everybody is supporting you, and they want you to succeed,” said Rosemary Cahill, 53, of Yarmouthport. Continue Reading »

Pressure mapping system identifies right cushion to prevent sores for wheelchair users

A new pressure mapping system at Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital that helps clinicians determine the suitability of a wheelchair cushion is making life a little easier for people with spinal cord injuries, including Douglas Bartling Jr., 30, of Little Falls.

Bartling, who was paralyzed in a diving accident last summer while on vacation in the Adirondacks with his fiancée and his family, started to develop a Pressure Sore on his buttocks last March.

“I came in, and used the pressure mapping, and I got a different cushion,” said Bartling. “I went home, used the cushion for the weekend and it got better, and I haven’t had another problem since.” Continue Reading »

Quadriplegic Musician’s Lifestyle

Quadriplegic Musician’s Lifestyle (Part 1)
Quadriplegic Musician’s Lifestyle (Part 2)
Quadriplegic Musicians Lifestyle (Part 3) Continue Reading »

Overseas treatment risky

Stem cell procedures lack evidence

PHILADELPHIA — In February, Marcela DeVivo took her baby son to the Dominican Republic and paid $30,000 to have him injected with blood stem cells from aborted fetuses.

Nathan, who turns 2 next month, was born with the hemispheres of his brain fused. He is physically and mentally handicapped.

DeVivo is among a growing number of Americans spending up to $75,000 in the hope that clinics in developing countries have realized the dream of regenerative medicine: using stem cells to fix the so-far unfixable. Continue Reading »

Clinton woman to get stem cell transplant in China

Sonya Watson hasn’t walked since a terrifying wreck left her a quadriplegic, but she still dreams of getting out of her wheelchair.

This week, those dreams will take her to the other side of the world where she will undergo a controversial stem cell transplant.

“I am doing this because the doctors told me I would never walk again and I don’t believe that’s true,” said the 25-year-old Clinton woman. “I can’t get stem cell injections here at all.”

Watson was just 17 and driving her grandmother to the eye doctor one day nine years ago when, she says, a defective speed-control system on her 1995 Ford Explorer caused her to lose control. The car flipped several times, leaving her with a broken neck. Continue Reading »

Wave Broke Modestan’s Neck, ‘Miracles’ Put Him Back on His Feet

Jul. 27–The fog had burned off, the sand at Pismo Beach was beginning to sizzle and Modesto Realtor Fred Miller finally was hot enough to join his teenage daughters in the surf.

It was July 25, 2007, the second day in the family’s annual weeklong pilgrimage to Pismo, a trip they had been taking for nearly 20 years. Miller’s wife, Leanne, stayed on the beach while Miller and his brother-in-law, Phil Morino of Modesto, took their boogie boards into the ocean. Two of the Millers’ daughters, Natalie and Jacqueline, then 17 and 19, had been surfing for a few hours.

“The waves looked interesting in that they were larger and thicker than normal,” said Miller, who lived near the ocean for about half of his 61 years. “We had heard it was because of a storm down south. Continue Reading »

Turlock man back to defend gold at wheelchair games

Three weeks after the auto accident, Joe Velasquez remained in his hospital bed in Pocatello, Idaho. His neck was broken, his spinal cord severely damaged, and he was connected to a respirator, unable to move.

It was no way to spend the Christmas season of 1983, not with a wife and two children at home.

One morning, Velasquez became aware of two doctors at the foot of his bed discussing his condition.

“They didn’t know I could hear them, but they were saying to each other that I was going to be that way for the rest of my life,” Velasquez said. “I couldn’t move, but I could hear them. Continue Reading »

Paralyzed driver ahead of schedule

Whatever anyone thinks of him or his situation, Josh Howard says, never call him a quitter.

Howard, 22, of Byhalia, Miss., has been paralyzed since crashing his sprint car at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway on Oct. 25.

Though still considered a quadriplegic, Howard said he continues to see improvement through a daily regimen of Physical Therapy.

“Every week I see improvement,” he said. “My arms are getting stronger. My fingers are twitching more, and we’re seeing more movement in my legs. Continue Reading »

Rise above Tour brings message of hope

Tour stop focuses on spinal cord injury awareness and rehab

This week a message of hope rolled through the state.

The Rise Above Tour, a cross-country bicycle and handcycle ride devoted to bringing a message of hope and awareness about spinal cord injuries, completed another leg of their trek across the country with stops in Utah. The tour members hope to raise funds for spinal cord research and to educate people about the benefits of continued Rehabilitation and perseverance in the face of a spinal cord injury.

Continue Reading »