HOYLETON — As a speech therapist who works in the King City and surrounding area, Kelly Melton knows how difficult it is to overcome a disability. Now Melton is hoping her husband’s trip to China will help him further recover from a paralyzing injury with medical treatment not authorized here in the United States — umbilical cord stem cell treatment.
Chuck Melton has been paralyzed since 2002 as a result of a diving accident, when he dove into a lake and broke his neck, fracturing the C-7 vertebrae between his shoulder blades. The complete spinal cord injury left him paralyzed from the shoulders down, limiting use of his arm and hands. Continue Reading »
Published: February 25, 2009 | Category: Information
Dr. Ragnarsson is a physiatrist (specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation) and professor and chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Mount Sinai. Since 1971, he has been treating patients with physical disability. He oversees the treatment of almost 2,000 patients admitted each year with new disability which may be the result of spinal cord or brain injury, stroke or amputation. Continue Reading »
Three years ago, when the family appeared publicly for the first time since Tyson Gentry’s spinal cord injury, Bob Gentry said something that has resonated with me ever since.
Someone asked Bob, a father of three, what his family learned from each other through such a trying ordeal.
“Our strength as a family is kind of tough to beat,” Bob said. “We didn’t have to say, ‘Geez, I wish we’d have done this’ or ‘Why didn’t we think of that?’ We didn’t have regrets of any kind. That’s not us as a family.” Continue Reading »
Because of the spinal cord injury he suffered in an accidental shooting in 1980, U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin not only uses a wheelchair, he also has poor circulation and the equivalent of a broken thermostat for controlling his body temperature.
Today’s forecast for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration calls for temperatures in the low 30s; with the wind blowing it will feel like the teens when members of Congress gather on a stage outside the Capitol. But Langevin said, “As much as I hate the cold weather, I wouldn’t miss this inauguration for the world.” Continue Reading »
A small group of protesters, several of whom were seated in wheelchairs, gathered in 30-degree weather outside the Hays office of Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services on Wednesday morning.
The idea was to keep things peaceful. There was no chanting, and no entrances were blocked. Rather, the group hoped to educate the public about a recent waiver freeze implemented by SRS, said organizer Lou Ann Kibbee, Hays. Continue Reading »
Imagine being able to look at a light, think about turning it on, and it comes on without you moving. Or picture, with just a thoughtful wish, being able to control a computer or open a door. Now envision directing and controlling all manner of inanimate objects with your mind. It would be great fun and potentially very helpful in our multi-tasking world, but consider how it would transform the existence for a person who has lost all motor function due to spinal cord or brain damage. What if there were a technology that allowed people with severe disabilities to communicate, guide robotic limbs, and control the environment around them? This is not just science fiction, but the vision driving the development of brain-computer interfaces or BCI. Continue Reading »
Wikk’s highly specialized custom elevator activation switches are featured in The Blusson Spinal Cord Centre in the Vancouver General Hospital site – The ICORD’s (International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries) new home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Greendale, WI (PRWEB) (PRWEB) December 19, 2008 — Wikk Industries, Inc., a Greendale, Wisconsin-based global designer and manufacturer of the AccessAbility™ automatic door activation solutions line, developed custom INGRESS’R® elevator cab and hall switches (http://www.wikk.com/sw_spec2.html) for all three elevators in the ICORD centre – an “interdisciplinary research centre for the development of effective strategies to provide functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI),” according to www.icord.org. Its mission is to give mobility and access control back – enhancing the quality of life – to people with SCI. Continue Reading »
Life Rolls On Foundation’s second Public Service Announcement (PSA). World debut during the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship coverage on NBC Sports on December 12, 2008. Continue Reading »
Thrill-Seeker Has Led ‘Wonderfully Fulfilling Life’ Since Accident
VIENNA, Va. – At 67, Sharon Hovey says she is ready to settle down.
An Ashville native and self-described thrill-seeker, Ms. Hovey says she has lived her life on the edge – though bound to a wheelchair for the last 50 years by Quadriplegia. Continue Reading »
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HOYLETON — As a speech therapist who works in the King City and surrounding area, Kelly Melton knows how difficult it is to overcome a disability. Now Melton is hoping her husband’s trip to China will help him further recover from a paralyzing injury with medical treatment not authorized here in the United States — umbilical cord stem cell treatment.
Dr. Ragnarsson is a physiatrist (specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation) and professor and chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Mount Sinai. Since 1971, he has been treating patients with physical disability. He oversees the treatment of almost 2,000 patients admitted each year with new disability which may be the result of spinal cord or brain injury, stroke or amputation. 
Three years ago, when the family appeared publicly for the first time since Tyson Gentry’s spinal cord injury, Bob Gentry said something that has resonated with me ever since.
Imagine being able to look at a light, think about turning it on, and it comes on without you moving. Or picture, with just a thoughtful wish, being able to control a computer or open a door. Now envision directing and controlling all manner of inanimate objects with your mind. It would be great fun and potentially very helpful in our multi-tasking world, but consider how it would transform the existence for a person who has lost all motor function due to spinal cord or brain damage. What if there were a technology that allowed people with severe disabilities to communicate, guide robotic limbs, and control the environment around them? This is not just science fiction, but the vision driving the development of brain-computer interfaces or BCI. 
Wikk’s highly specialized custom elevator activation switches are featured in The Blusson Spinal Cord Centre in the Vancouver General Hospital site – The ICORD’s (International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries) new home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.