LIVE QUICKIE BLOG

For many of us, it's October that is actually the "most wonderful time of the year." This month is the only time when it's socially acceptable to dress up like our beloved characters from our favorite TV shows, comics, cartoons, movies, video games, and even anime. However, if you enjoy creating and wearing costumes, you don't have to wait until Halloween. The cosplay (costume play) community prides itself on its craftsmanship and has a collective presence at various conventions and video game tournaments.

I was conspicuously out of my natural element. I was a professional NHRA drag racer by trade. Earned a living by going very, very quickly in a straight line. Now, 28 years after a 250 mph crash cost me an arm and the ability to walk, I shockingly found myself suited up and driving a NASCAR stock car, of all things.

Football has always been a love of mine. Since before I could walk I was mesmerized by the game. As a young child I dreamed about being an NFL player as I would play pickup games with friends and family. At the age of 12 my dream went out the window when I was diagnosed with Friedreich's Ataxia (FA), a rare neuromuscular disease. The disease is progressive, so not only did I lose my ability to walk over time, I also began to have trouble with my speech and other fine motor skill functions.

I was in a car accident in 2005, which, along with many other injuries, broke three vertebrae and damaged my spinal cord. I had an incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) at T-11. I've been walking short distances over the years, but have had many setbacks due to various things, mostly related to the trauma I experienced in 2005. It's always been one step forward, two steps back. I felt like my progress in terms of movement had reached a plateau.

Summer has come and gone, and school has started. It's a time of getting our kids settled into a new routine, including getting to and from school in a safe manner. For some, this means navigating their way through not only their child's transportation, but his/her wheelchair as well. You would think this should be an easy task to coordinate, but unfortunately it appears to be uncharted territory.