No Arms, No Legs, But One of the Happiest People in the World

What do you do when you have no arms and no legs? Your life may seem overwhelming because you may feel like you are missing out on so many things you are unable to do. Nothing is more untrue according to Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms and legs. It is all about attitude! If you concentrate on what you do have instead of what you don’t have, you are setting yourself up to become a happy person. Be thankful for what you have; don’t be bitter for what you don’t have! Read more

How Do You Interact with a Disabled Person?

Communicating with a person with a disability can make people uncomfortable as disabled people are often thought of as being “different”. A person with a disability might not be able to walk, or hear, or see, or talk, but other than that a disabled person has a body, a brain, a heart, and a soul like everyone else. A disabled person wants to enjoy life, set goals, and be treated with respect just like a non-disabled person. But, disabled people are not always treated with the sensitivity they deserve. Read more

Enjoy the Outdoors Off-roading in a Wheelchair with the Mountain Trike

The great outdoors is usually very inaccessible to wheelchair users, but thanks to the invention of a new manual all terrain wheelchair, the gap between wheelchair accessibility and outdoors fun has become significantly narrower. Two engineers from the University of Bath, UK have been working diligently for four years to design this revolutionary off-road wheelchair – marketed as the Mountain Trike.

The wheelchair is propelled by pushing forward on two levers connected to the front wheels and uses an air-sprung suspension to absorb the shocks encountered on rough terrain. This off-road ingenuity allows you to travel through mud, grass, gravel, uneven terrain and modest amounts of snow and, you are also able to climb hills without rolling backwards. The Mountain Trike is built with safety in mind. For example, it has two small front wheels that prevent its user from tipping over forward when braking abruptly or going down a steep descent.

Tim Morgan and John Wardle, the inventors, plan to launch this exciting all terrain wheelchair at the Rehacare disability exhibition in Dusseldorf Germany later in the year. We wish them good luck with the launch as this new off-road wheelchair is certainly going to benefit a lot of wheelchair users who would love to explore the outdoors more freely.

Witness for yourself how cool this all terrain wheelchair really is by checking out this video that provides an excellent narrated overview of its most exciting features.

Or watch this brief off-road journey where the latest prototype is demonstrated.

Paragliding in a Wheelchair – an Ultimate Thrill Soon To Become Reality?

Have you ever dreamed of floating through the sky in your wheelchair? Soon this might very well be possible thanks to the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. Work has begun on a special chair that allows any wheelchair-bound person to independently take up the sport of paragliding. How cool is that?

This amazing wheelchair underwent its first test last week carrying an able-bodied person and initial tests look very promising. Hang gliding in a wheelchair opens a whole new world for people with mobility disabilities.

Moreover, nothing really prevents a person using a wheelchair from participating competitively alongside an able-bodied person because everyone is equal when “hanging” freely in the sky.

You can check out the entire story at the Deseret News site.

These Disabled Musicians Rock the House

Javier Pena never saw himself working with people with disabilities, let alone leading a 25-member band whose members struggle with Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and blindness. He didn’t really understand what he got himself into at first when he accepted a symbolic position to help socialize disabled folks with music.

But what Pena has been able to accomplish with a group of disabled musicians is extraordinary. Now his band, known as the Spirit of Goodwill, is a group of legitimate performers, complete with a blues-belting lead singer, a well-trained choir, a horn section, keyboards, guitar, and drums. They have become sought-after entertainers and their story has just recently been turned into the award winning documentary For Once in My Life.

You can read the entire heart-warming and inspiring story, a contribution by Jenny Inglee, here.

A Truly Intelligent Wheelchair for Severely Disabled People

Imagine being a multiple sclerosis patient used to driving a wheelchair with a joystick. As your condition progresses, you may loose the strength and control to operate a wheelchair using a joystick. It would be a tremendous setback to lose the independence of freely moving around in a wheelchair.

Soon that thought may become less of a worry as MIT is making good progress designing an intelligent wheelchair controlled simply by voice.

The wheelchair uses two different systems for navigation: it relies on GPS outdoors and is guided by a map of the local environment to navigate inside. What’s really unique about this particular intelligent wheelchair is that it’s completely self-learning. The chair is programmed when it’s taken on a guided tour of an area during which time key locations are identified via WiFi.

Witness this amazing technology by checking out this video that explains how the voice-command robotic wheelchair operates.

Cruising – A Convenient Way to Travel as a Wheelchair User

If you’re wheelchair bound like me, cruising can be a very convenient and relaxing way to travel because you’re able to visit different destinations without the hassle of transferring baggage or checking in and out of hotels. On a cruise ship you literally take your hotel room with you. During my 22 years as a quadriplegic I’ve cruised six times: two Caribbean cruises, a Baltic cruise and three Alaska cruises, all with Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises. I love cruising!  In this article I’ll share some of my experiences and observations. Read more

Jamie Dunross, First Quadriplegic Sailor to Circumnavigate Australia

First there was quadriplegic Geoff  Holt who sailed solo across the Atlantic not too long ago, next Hillary Lister came along to become the first quadriplegic woman to circumnavigate Britain solo using a sip and puff equipped sailboat, and now we have Australian Jamie Dunross who is currently braving the seas in his effort to become the first quad to sail solo around Australia. Jamie anticipates the voyage, with stops, will take around five months, and encompass around 9000 nautical miles of sailing.

Jamie became a C5 quadriplegic in a gold pouring accident in the Australian outback in 1988 and was very depressed at first. However, sailing turned his life into a journey of amazing accomplishments, including a gold medal at the 2000 Paralympic Games.

Jamie considers his sailing trip around Australia to be a warm-up for his big dream of circumnavigating the entire globe solo. However, I don’t just want to applaud Jamie for his physical achievements.  When Jamie returns to his hometown of Rockingham, just South of Perth, he plans to get involved in a sailing program designed for people with disabilities. He also wants to demonstrate to the public that a disability doesn’t need to be a roadblock against achieving your dreams when you are determined to reach your goal.

You can follow Jamie’s journey at his website where he blogs regularly about his progress and his experiences.

Cerebral Palsy Will Not Stop Steve Wampler from Climbing El Capitan

Have you heard about Steve Wampler? In September, he plans to become the first person with cerebral palsy to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan, a vertical granite rock twice the height of the Empire State Building. Because of Steve’s condition, he will rely solely on upper body strength to reach the top. The ascent will take six days, with about 20,000 pull downs and the help of two skilled climbers.

One of the amazing things about Steve is that he’s climbing for something much greater than personal achievement. He is climbing to raise funds for his wilderness camps for kids with disabilities. He is so inspiring that he’s even gotten the attention of Ellen DeGeneres and Will Ferrell.

To read the whole story behind Steve’s climbing endeavor, his foundation, and an interesting personal anecdote about how he met his wife check out this uplifting article by Jenny Inglee.

28 Disability Sports for People with Spinal Cord Injury

A spinal cord injury can be a huge setback at first, especially for people who are used to lead active lives that include a lot of physical activities. However, this video by project Continue shows the many opportunities that still exist to engage in sporting activities thanks to the specialized adaptive equipment that removes barriers to participation after paralysis. While most of the recreational and sporting activities featured in this video are geared towards paraplegics, some of them also involve quadriplegics. Non-the less, the scenes are beautifully shot in high definition and these positive images may very well inspire many of us to continue to lead active lives despite of a physical disability.

Enjoy watching this awesome video!

continue from Jeffrey Rosenbluth on Vimeo.

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