Getting it Right: a video all chair users (and providers) need to see

I love social media because great ideas can spread like wildfire. Today, a video went viral about the importance of a well-designed wheelchair- a topic important to me and my readers.  I like and respect how the video does not over-dramatize the daily challenges people with disabilities face; it just shows and explains how the right equipment can be the difference between dependence and independence.

The video also shows how wheelchairs are not “one size fits all” and how an improperly fitted wheelchair can, in fact, cause expensive medical problems, such as pressure sores and scoliosis.  On a personal note, a couple years of after my spinal cord injury, I developed scoliosis (in part) because my first wheelchair didn’t fit me properly.  As late as 10 years ago, wheelchairs were something you “grew in to” but now this video proves how a wheelchair is really an extension of you and is just as important as legs are to a person who walks.

Now that you’ve seen the video, here is how you ensure you get the chair that is properly fitted for you:

Seating Evaluation and Wheelchair Prescription

 

A C 5-6 Quadriplegic demonstrates a transfer…

Get out, enjoy LIFE!!

Toys to be collected at 12Ks of Christmas

‘Running in a sea of Santas’ now has new meaning. Over the weekend, we learned that a friend of many, Jessica Stebbins of Tucson, Arizona, passed away sometime over Friday night. The circumstances of her death are still unknown and she leaves behind many family and friends who adored her.

One of her passions was supporting her sister’s organization, Heartz 4 Kidz, which collects and donates toys for foster children in Tucson. In memory of Jessica, myTEAM Triumph- Wings of Phoenix will be collecting donations of toys at their first event, The 12Ks of Christmas. We will be taking the toys to Tucson after the event so if you would like to donate please see the attached flyer for details and join us December 10! Please spread the word!

A very heartfelt ‘thanks.’

Run, Run, Rudolf!

Run in a sea of SANTAS!

 myTEAM Triumph Wings of Phoenix will be participating in it’s first race on December 10, The 12Ks of Christmas. Please join us, cheer on our teams (or be a part of one!). Here’s the info:

12Ks of Christmas

Saturday, December 10, 2011 10am
Freestone District Park, Gilbert Arizona

We need Angels, Captains, and Volunteers!
e-mail AJustice@mtt-WingsofPhoenix.org

Check out the flyer below and visit our website http://mtt-wingsofphoenix.org

A gem in the rubble: Some encouraging words for new parents…

This was something I started writing back on June 6 of this year. It was unfinished for so long that I just forgot about it. I didn’t want to be disingenuous to the reader or the article so I just did a quick conclusion and left the rest as is. Enjoy!

To the new or potentially new parent- Parenthood is not designed to be an easy experience. It’s truly a 24/7/365-and-then-some job but, unlike other occupations that wear you out and leave you the same as before, this one makes you love deeper, care better, and defy the boundaries of adult logic. It proves everyday that not only your little one, but you as well, are capable of amazing things. And those lessons learned are very rewarding!

Mommy Lesson 3) Let’s Be Honest, Here

It’s funny how “Being Honest” can be such a challenging topic to talk about. I overestimated my abilities, here, and thought I could crank out an article about honesty and parenting in 30 minutes. Instead, it took talking to other parents, running a poll on Facebook, and really delving into my thoughts and memories to be able to break it down to size.

The truth is…

Mommy Lesson 2) Trusting Yourself

It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself. ~Joyce Maynard

So, how many parents have woken up in a sweat over a nightmare? No, not a nightmare involving zombies, witches, or rogue mangy black birds but one of failing. Failing to keep our little ones safe, fearing to watch them tumble down steps or out of our arms, and failing to comfort a cry or keep them safe from those zombies or birds or the badguy robberman? It can be paralyzing in it’s own right!

There were times when I felt depressed because I thought I couldn’t be the mother I wanted to be for my son. I spun negative images of me dropping him or of him crying because all I could do is stare at him. But, much like learning how to trust myself when doing a chair transfer without a slide board for the first time, I had to trust myself that I would be a good mom. I could still be there for my son and he would still meet his developmental milestones, even if I couldn’t do everything an “able-bodied” mother could.

Being there for my son has become the most important developmental tool in my belt. Paying attention to the things he needs and showing him my love with doing as much as I could do tells him that he is special. Even if it’s simple, like letting him ride on my lap, acting goofy to make him laugh, or playing peek-a-boo through the slats on his crib, as long as I am there for him, I cannot fail! Like the saying goes, in life it’s the little things that matter most.

Next week: Mommy Lesson 3) Be honest!

Parenting: So many lessons, so little time

Ever misdiagnose a cry for hunger as a cry for a nap? Or fallen asleep while draped over the side of a co-sleeper, feeding an infant at 3am? Ever thought “I can’t do this” only to discover that you can do much more than you give yourself credit?? Am I just talking about my self?? In any case, these past 8 months of motherhood have been an amazing experience but definitely full of lessons, trials & errors, and at times very funny mishaps (that we can laugh at now).

Starting today and for the next couple months, I will be blogging once a week about being a parent with quadriplegia: the ups, the downs, and the unexpected benefits and challenges. I welcome your stories, comments, questions and suggestions. If you’re a parent with a disability or a spouse of one, please send me your stories and own lessons learned!

And now, on to the series, Parenting: So many lessons, so little time

—————————————————————————————–

Forward Motion: Wrapping my mind around parenthood

I remember the moment when I decided that I wanted to have a child. I was with my mother on vacation and we stopped in at one of those malls with an ice-skating rink. On the ice, there just happened to be a group of kindergarten-age little boys dressed up in hockey uniforms, shimmying and sliding and falling on their butts. It was the most adorable thing I had seen in a long time. I had made up my mind at that moment that parenthood was something I wanted to experience with my husband and I.

I hadn’t had any fear regarding that decision until that little plus sign showed up. Then the only thought that went through my head for a good couple hours after was “oooh sh*t.” I had no idea what I had got myself in to. The pregnancy went well (with the exception of some challenges, which I will probably blog about later) and in no time at all, we were welcoming our new little son to this great big world.

Parenting with a disability, as I am discovering, is one heck of a teaching tool for how to become a better person. It can show you what you are really capable of when you think you are at the end of you rope; it can teach you to trust in your abilities when you think you’re about to fail; and it helps you to be humble and acknowledge when it is time to say “I might need some help.” Most of all, parenting is the greatest experience I could have ever hoped for. I have learned the most from other mothers, both with disabilities and without, and we all seem to come up with similar gems of wisdom, no matter our ability.

Mommy Lesson #1) When there’s a will, there’s a way!

I am a mother with a disability- Kind of incredible in and of itself. I use a wheelchair to get around, I have limited use of my hands, poor balance, and yet, I am a mother. I did jump into it with a little bit of arrogance, thinking that it would be easier than what it is but I’ve discovered that the same mantra I used to motivate myself in the early years of using a wheelchair, applies here. When there is a will, there is a way!

As everyone has discovered at some time in their lives, the Way may not exactly be what one expected. The Way may be Wait (as in, be patient), or Rest (as in, recharge your batteries), or the Way may be “Just Do It!” Or sometimes the Way is Help. Whichever Way fate chooses, when you let your Will direct your motion, there is nothing you can’t achieve. Nothing has driven this lesson home to me more than being a parent.

So, if you find that you are running in to wall after wall, maybe it’s time to change your path. It’s time to seek advice, think critically, or just break yourself out of the funk. One big life lesson I have learned is that if you change your attitude, the world around you will change, too.

Next week: Mommy Lesson #2) Trusting Yourself