Sip and Puff Sailor Hilary Lister Takes on New Challenge

Hilary Lister is a one-of-a-kind woman when it comes to determination. She has been using a wheelchair since she was 15 years old due to an illness called reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a degenerative neurological disorder, but she didn’t let her disease get in the way of reinventing her dreams.

First disabled woman to sail solo around Britain

Hillary gradually became a quadriplegic paralyzed from the neck down and is only able to move her head, eyes and mouth and needs to rely on other people for pretty much everything she needs. She also has a hard time breathing and just doing an interview might exhaust her. Despite of these setbacks she became the first woman with a disability to sail solo around Britain, which is approximately a 1600 mile journey, in 2009 at the age of 36. But the way she accomplished her triumph really pushed the boundaries of what is achievable in her condition without the use of arms and legs.

The sip and puff sailboat system

She was all alone in her sailboat strapped into a chair braving the rough open seas for many days. During the entire journey she basically relied on three straws to operate her sailboat. Being a quadriplegic myself, I can only imagine the “what if” thoughts of some potential disaster going around in your head when you’re all by yourself roughing the high waves with limited mobility. But at the same time, I can also relate to a statement she made during an interview with CNN: “When you leave the quayside, you leave behind the stresses of everyday life. Any sailor will tell you that. If you multiply that sense of freedom a thousand times, that’s how I feel. I leave behind my wheelchair, a team of caretakers and suddenly it’s just me.”

A Canadian engineer invented the sip and puff system that allows Hilary to control the sailboat through a series of commands she can give by either blowing or sucking through the straws, which are hooked up by pressure sensors to electric servo motors. For example, a puff in one of the straws works the tiller to go to port and a sip makes it go to starboard.

Sailing around Bahrain as next challenge

Hillary aims to assist other disabled or disadvantaged people accomplish their sailing dreams and therefore she has set up her own charity, Hilary’s Dream Trust. On April 13 she will be ready to take on her next challenge by sailing 100 miles around the Kingdom of Bahrain to raise funds for Bahrain Mobility International, which provides services to disabled people throughout the country.

Personally, I love Hillary’s motto: “Just go for it – live your dreams! We all have that same choice don’t we? You can live your dreams, or you can put up with the cards you’ve been dealt – I know which I choose every time.”

If you would like to read more about this remarkable woman, Hilary Lister, feel free to check out her website.

Disabled Digital Artist Andrew Reach Shows His Work At Wounded In Action Exhibition

DisabledandProductive is excited that disabled artist Andrew Reach, who we interviewed last year – Interview with Digital Artist Andrew Reach – was selected with his work March of Humanity for a very special Art Exhibition of Orthopaedic Advancements, Wounded in Action. This exhibition features the art by soldiers, military personnel, surgeons and even civilians like Andrew who have been inspired by the brave fight our wounded veterans battle every day.

Andrew created his work March of Humanity as a statement of hope for a better future without war. From the violent vortex of energy at the focal point of the image emerge peaceful beings, he calls “whimsies”. “Like musical notes in a symphony, they are reborn in brilliant colors. With freedom comes the ability of all of us to reach our greatest potential,” he says.

About Andrew Reach’s Motivation

Andrew Reach began creating computer-generated art when it became too physically challenging for him to continue as an architect, due to the chronic pain from Scheuermann’s disease. This condition, which usually starts in adolescence, causes the vertebrae to grow unevenly, increasing the curvature of the upper spine. When Reach had two surgeries for progressive symptoms of this disease, the bravery of those wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars inspired him and helped him overcome his own obstacles from the disease. Working with the Art Therapy Studio at Metrohealth Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, Andrew and his life partner Bruce Baumwoll are developing a program to introduce computer graphics. From this pilot program, they hope to bring computers into the VA to help our wounded veterans to heal. Andrew hopes his artwork will inspire them and others in difficult circumstances to overcome great obstacles, including the emotional pain induced by war. “Having my own orthopaedic condition and disability has tested me more than any experience in my life, especially my worth as a person,” he says.

click here to see the Wounded in Action website

Exhibits

March 9–13, 2010
Morial Convention Center, La Nouvelle Ballroom.
New Orleans, LA

April 26-30, 2010
Russell Senate Office Rotunda
Washington, D.C.

May through November 2010
National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed

Interview with Disabled T-shirt Designer Jared Aronson

We recently had the opportunity to get in touch with an inspiring young man who started his own t-shirt company, Madhouse Tees. Jared Aronson lives with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy every day, but his humor, his art, and his outlook on life are what define him. And considering what he has to live with every day, that is both amazing and inspiring. Read more

Positive Reinforcement

Ok, I don’t want to sound like I’m tooting our own horn here, but earlier today someone told me today that he finally visited this web site and really enjoyed it! He said that he thought the stories were really inspiring, and that he thinks everyone, not just those who are disabled, would be inspired by Luc’s story and experiences and the stories of the people we have interviewed.

For me, that was wonderful to hear, and helps to fulfill my hopes that we are doing something positive here. Encouragement and positive reinforcement is such a powerful force in anything, for anyone.

I’ll will try to remember that, and make it my goal that the next time I see anyone doing something that I think is good, or well done, I’ll let that person know.