CNN Hero Dana Cummings Teaches the Disabled to Surf

People who surf will tell you that there is something immensely freeing and satisfying in riding a wave and feeling the power of the ocean. After losing a leg in a car accident, Dana Cummings discovered that freedom and made it his mission to share it with other disabled people.

AmpSurf, short for the Association of Amputee Surfers, was founded by Dana and is a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities learn to surf. Many of them can’t imagine that they’d be able to get on a surfboard, and nearly all of them are nervous, but they all end up surfing.

Dana has said that he just wants everyone to be able to feel the rehabilitative power of surfing and the ocean, and this video shows that he is making a difference.

Congratulations to you Dana, and thank you for improving the lives of so many people.

Free Wheelchair Mission Has Given Away Nearly 500,000 Free Wheelchairs to Those in Need

Free Wheelchair Mission was founded in 1999 by Don Schoendorfer, who has a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after he was inspired by the sight of a physically disabled woman in Morocco crawling across a dirt road. It certainly adds a challenge to life when you have a mobility disability. But setting that aside, the people who are physically challenged living in the more developed countries – like myself – may in some regard consider themselves lucky compared to those living in the poorer countries where access to the most basic wheelchair is practically non-existent. Read more

T-shirt Designer with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in the News

Jared Aronson, founder of Madhouse Tees, is a T-shirt designer living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. But, he doesn’t want to be perceived as the disabled guy in a wheelchair using a breathing tube. Jared is an artist who has been drawing since he was a young child. And even though drawing became more and more difficult over the years as paralysis gradually overtook most of his body, Jared kept drawing new T-shirt designs on his computer using only his thumb and a mouse. Read more

Rex Robotic Legs Allow Paraplegics to Walk Again

We posted a story last February about the ReWalk system, a device invented by an Israeli company Argo Medical Technologies, Ltd. that enables paraplegics to walk again. When I was watching the Belgian news on the Internet yesterday, which I do occasionally to keep in touch with what’s going on in the country where I was born, another walking device for paraplegics was featured. Hayden Allen from New Zealand, a paraplegic as a result of a motorcycle accident, showed off a pair of robotic legs that help paraplegics walk again. It caught my attention and I decided to investigate the system some more. Read more

Crossing the Mile High “Swinging” Bridge at Grandfather Mountain in a Wheelchair – A Dream Come True

I remember going on a day trip to Grandfather Mountain near Linville, North Carolina a few years after my disabling accident when I was still living in Charlotte, NC. Grandfather Mountain is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains and it’s best known for its mile high “swinging” bridge that links two of the mountain’s rocky peaks. The panoramic views from the bridge are supposedly spectacular, but I never got to see it because there was no wheelchair access to the bridge when I visited. Needless to say that I was very excited when I read an article about a new structure built at the top of Grandfather Mountain that provides wheelchair access to the bridge. Read more

Hand-Cycling Across the United States

For anyone who has ever driven across the continent, from one end of the United States to the other, it becomes apparent just how large and vast the US is. Now imagine traveling across it using only the power of your arms.

That’s exactly what Kristina Ripatti-Pearce did.

After the former Los Angeles Police Officer became paralyzed in a 2006 shooting, her life changed drastically, but her determination to take on challenges in life never diminished.

ESPN has a story about her and some of the challenges she faced riding across the US that you might want to check out: Paralyzed Police Officer Races Bike Across US.

Scouting with a Disability: A Story of Inspiration, Goals and a Very Worn Pair of Shoes

As with any organization, The Boy Scouts of America have rules and guidelines that must be adhered to. When Nathaniel Schrader of Chantilly, Virginia, joined a local Boy Scout troop, the leadership was hesitant. They werenʼt sure how a boy with cerebral palsy would be able to fit in or even progress within the ranks with all his limitations. The leadership offered information on another troop in the area that served mobility impaired scouts but Nathaniel wanted to stay with his Cub Scout friends, all of whom chose this particular troop. Leadership wasnʼt sure how to teach a scout with so many limitations. Read more

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

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.

Disabled Art – Part 2 of Our Interview with Andrew Reach

This is the second half of an interview we did with an inspiring artist named Andrew Reach. For part 1 of the interview please go here. In this second half, Andrew talks more about the creation of his art, and what inspires him. Read more

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