LIVE QUICKIE BLOG

One day while browsing Facebook I saw that a martial arts coach who worked with Michael named James Reid had posted an advertisement for an arm wrestling tournament in Syracuse. Due to years of using crutches and various Quickie wheelchairs throughout the years, I have always had very strong arms and felt that I would excel in arm wrestling.

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.

If there's one thing we can be certain of, it's that mainstream technology is largely targeted toward an able-bodied demographic. Smartphones and tablets are among the most popular of these devices, and are regularly used by people around the globe. As a quad-amputee, I can't use a phone in a conventional fashion. There are a lot of people with disabilities that have this in common. While most people use their fingers to access their devices, we use our lips, our arms, our feet, and even our noses.

As easy as it may sound, keeping a balanced life is something I struggle with. Without consciously thinking about it, I tend to overextend myself rather quickly. That overextension develops into stress, which no one really likes. For me, the trick hasn't been eliminating stress completely, but to limit the stress to an amount I can manage.

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.