I was in the hospital for a week and then moved to inpatient rehab for five more weeks. When I was released, I received my customized wheelchair in August 2021. This is when things started to change. My wheelchair has taken me on many adventures with my friends and family. Learning to drive again and becoming more independent allowed me to regain most of my life, especially working out.

8/6/2024 12:00:00 AM

Wheelchair pickleball is on the cusp of the growth that pickleball as a whole has been experiencing over recent years. More and more seated players are showing up at their local courts, and wheelchair pickleball events are beginning to pop up at tournaments across the country.

2/5/2024 12:00:00 AM

I have been a wheelchair user since I was big enough to attempt to walk, and the challenges of exercising and staying healthy while you body is fighting against you aren't easy. Although staying healthy is something that the whole world strives for, being a person who uses a wheelchair can make it even more important. Here are five ways that you can improve your health as a wheelchair user.

1/30/2024 12:00:00 AM

During my first semester at Florida State, I was paralyzed in a diving accident which completely severed my spinal cord at the C5 vertebrae. The whole thing is pretty ironic considering I'd been diving for swim meets since my age was still in the single digits.

1/8/2024 12:00:00 AM

Exercise is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and is incredibly beneficial to physical and mental well-being. Sometimes, children with disabilities find certain types of exercise difficult or disability-exclusive, but there are options that make physical activity accessible (and fun) for children of all ages and abilities.

1/7/2020 12:00:00 AM

Yoga is a spiritual and physical discipline celebrated for its positive influence over health, pain relief, and relaxation. Practicing yoga is beneficial for people of all abilities, body types, and fitness levels. It is credited for reducing aches & pains and promoting general wellbeing & positive mental health.

1/29/2019 12:00:00 AM

Life was great. I was happy, healthy, and fit! In June of 2012 everything changed. I became paralyzed at level C5/6. I learned that I had a herniated disk that cracked. A piece broke off and lodged in my spinal cord causing an impingement. At first, I was not able to move my arms and hands. With a lot of therapy and my own fitness bands tied to my hospital bed rails, I was able to eventually get some function back.

1/8/2019 12:00:00 AM

I've been on this planet for 31 years and have been a quad-amputee for just about the same amount of time. Growing up, and even now, I've always been more sensitive to the heat than others. I tend to sweat more than most able-bodied people that I know, and I don't wear a jacket nearly as often. In doing my research for this article, I've learned that my experiences with temperature are common among amputees.

8/14/2018 12:00:00 AM

I was hooked from just the subject line: "The bike trip to miss." After all, it's not every day that you're offered to go on a five-day fully guided bike trip exploring the trails of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Tim McGrough, the program director for Telluride Adaptive Sports Program (TASP) organized this trip with Western Spirit, a Moab-based bicycle tour company to take seven select off-road handcyclists on their first-ever guided off-road handcycle tour.

8/7/2018 12:00:00 AM

On April 11 I celebrated my 15th "re-birth-day." For me, this re-birth signifies the anniversary of my injury. I'll be honest: this particular anniversary is one that I have always feared. It meant that I had been a wheelchair user for over half of my life and for some reason that scared me. Knowing that this date was approaching, I had a revelation at the end of 2017 that I needed to start taking better care of myself.

5/29/2018 12:00:00 AM

Exercise is essential to the overall well-being of people from all walks of life and in all life stages. Stretching, cardio, resistance training, and sports each assist in the development and continual improvement of muscle tone, coordination, and day-to-day energy levels. Wheelchair users are no exception to this rule and many experience great benefits to introducing workouts to their daily lives.

3/27/2018 12:00:00 AM

I've walked across Death Valley, biked in three Los Angeles marathons, and pedaled my way across the country twice. These athletic feats would be considered amazing accomplishments for most people. But for me? I was told by doctors that I had a one-in-a-million chance of ever feeding myself after a motocross accident left me paralyzed with a severe spinal cord injury at the age of 20. These accomplishments take on a whole new meaning and, in reflection, are mind-blowing to think about.

1/16/2018 12:00:00 AM

Therapeutic horseback riding, a type of equine-assisted psychotherapy, is a form of social, physical, and emotional therapy. In Ancient Greece, horseback riding was a well-known treatment for people who wished to rid themselves of physical or mental ailments. However, it wasn't until 1900 that therapeutic horseback riding began to be used in Canada and the United States.

10/10/2017 12:00:00 AM

There are so many articles and videos about wheelchair fitness that it can feel overwhelming. Where and how do I get started? How do I find the time? Getting started with wheelchair fitness can be daunting. But there is a secret.

1/17/2017 12:00:00 AM

In life, there are small obstacles and big obstacles that keep us from doing what we want to do. Most of the small ones can be beaten quickly and with little effort, while the bigger ones are intimidating and aren't so easy to figure out. I had to deal with one of the really big obstacles — becoming paralyzed from the waist-down.

1/3/2017 12:00:00 AM