As of today, LiveQuickie.com is one year old. Like most one-year-olds, it has been a year of growth and learning. We have learned so much from all of our readers, bloggers, and contributors, and we truly couldn't have made it this far without you. We hope you have found this site to be a resource, an inspiration, and a place to share experiences & celebrate victories. Looking ahead to year two of Live Quickie, we have lots of new ideas and maybe a surprise or two coming your way. In the meantime, here are the blogs and videos that you told us were your favorites.
You all loved the story of the wheelchair crowd surfer, Brandon Stone. Brandon wrote about how a concert with a few friends turned out to be a night he would never forget. You were also fans of Jess' story of cooking with her mom. In this blog, Jess turns the tables a bit and finds she is the caretaker of the woman who had always taken care of her. Cooking seems to be a way to connect with her mother after the effects of dementia has taken their toll.
Our career month was a big hit. Many readers found they could relate to Matt Feeney's dilemma of how to create the career you want instead of accepting the career you find yourself stuck in. If you like Matt's blog, be sure to watch his video, Matt Feeney - Freedom Found.
Two more blogs from our original posts are also in the top 10: A Girls' Weekend, written by Genevieve Halle and Designing a Life Worth Loving by Sara from Pittsburgh. Both of these blogs celebrate how life with a wheelchair can be rich and rewarding, and in Genevieve's case it might involve handsome firefighters.
Hacking Life, a blog about your favorite apps made the top 10 most popular blogs, as did the story of Liam Hickey, a dual-sport Canadian national athlete. Liam has represented his country in both wheelchair basketball and sledge hockey. Not to be outdone, the USA is represented by Paralympic Gold Medalist Megan Blunk. Megan wrote a blog in January about how she stays fit from a wheelchair.
Our runner-up for most popular blog is a three-part series. Karen Wenning shares her son's journey adjusting to a spinal cord injury from a mother's perspective. Before you click on this one, you may want to make sure you have some tissues on hand. To follow up on Karen's son Josh, watch his video Driving What's Possible, our fifth-most popular video of 2017.
This brings us to our single most popular blog - drum roll please! Mitch St.Pierre's Tuk Tuk Diaries takes the top spot. Mitch has traveled the world in his Quickie wheelchair, creating films and starting businesses. Mitch's blog for Live Quickie is about his adventures in the jungles of Cambodia, where he runs a hotel. Since you all loved Mitch's story so much we are bringing him back in 2018 for another adventure. Be sure to check back to see what he's been up to!
So take a look through these outstanding blogs and videos from the past 12 months. We are sure you will find someone to relate to or be encouraged by. Then make sure you come back to Live Quickie for weekly updates and join us for the ride. And if you want to be a contributing part of Live Quickie, send us your story! Here's to another great year of building community on LiveQuickie.com.
Most of the stories here on Live Quickie were submitted by readers. Do you have a story to tell? We'd love to hear it. Submit your story here.