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Living On My Own About 8 months ago I was still living at home with my parents. My mother and my step father. I had it good. My step father is in sheet metal and he helped to design and construct our home. It was completely accessible for me. Wide doors, hard wood floors, roll in shower, and there was even an elevator! I mean, c'mon, talk about spoiled. But what's that saying "all good things must come to an end" and they did. My parents had made the decision to downsize. I was the only kid still living at home, and they wanted to move into a reasonably smaller and more affordable house. Who am I to disagree? But instead of go with them I decided it was time to look for a place of my own, and that's just what i did. I had no reason not to. I'm lucky enough to be able to physically care for myself, I'm financially comfortable, I'm in an adult relationship, and I'm 25. So I started the process of moving out. I viewed at least 15 apartments before I found the right one. And I ran into the same obstacle over and over-ACCESSIBILITY. It's 2016, sure things are getting better. But it's still a journey to find a completely accessible place. Everything would seem fine, I'd like the apartments, but then would come that dreadful moment...the bathroom. Was it too small? Can I fit through the door? Can I close the door once I'm in? Is the shower accessible? Can my shower chair fit? I mean if you can't use the bathroom...you CAN'T live there. But here I am, I searched and searched and I found a very accessible place to call home. . It's been 2 months living on my own, and I am absolutley loving it. Sure I struggle. I struggle to keep my kitchen clean. I struggle to fix my bed. I struggle to mop my floors and vacuum my carpets. I struggle to do my never ending laundry. But those struggles are so cool to me. Just because I struggle, doesn't mean I fail. So many people, even some of my family didn't think I could do this. Didn't think i'd want to do this. But I do, I did, I am. I am a 25 year old, disabled woman who is taking care of herself...and her puppy and kitten. I mean, sure I miss my mom. (I see her most every week and we talk everyday) But i miss how she'd spoil me. She'd do my laundry and clean my room and make me coffe and breakfast and lunch and dinner. I am so blessed beyond words to have her in my life. But now, waking up in the morning and making my own coffee, my own breakfast and cleaning up my own mess...it's fullfilling. It's normalizing. I feel normal. And for us, the percentage of people with a disability...that's a big thing. Feeling normal, feeling accomplished, feeling proud. . Make sure to check out my segment on Youtube, "My Crippled Life" new epispdes will be coming soon. Follow me on INSTA/SNAPCHAT: Marnawheels SoundCloud: Marna Michele

The fog. The evening. My name is Debora. I was born in 1973 and I am a "citizen of the world" resident in Italy. Lhamo Saraswati are the names that I have acquired in my spiritual journey. Faith and religion had a vital role in the lives of my mother and my grandmother and they have taught this to me, too. This spirituality has grown in me- it has created desire for knowledge, wisdom, artistic expression and communion with the divine. I've graduated in Middle Eastern History, and I have lectured comparative reading of symbols, religion and the tradition of Ottoman-Turkish minor arts. When I was 38 years old, my life was yoga, meditation and research on matriarchal cults. I was a theatrical actress and poetry performer. My painting works are exhibited in three exhibitions. I was working in an Italian multinational society... but in my soul, I had no experience of unconditional love. The storm. The night. In July 2011, a terrible back pain brings me slowly, in just four months to stop walking and a failing to get out of bed with a loss of sensativity to my left leg. Continuous strong pain was preventing me from doing this at every moment. I lost my job, friends and relatives didn't want to see me. My father and my sisters were refusing to help me, and see me. My mother, ultra-septuagenarian, was near to me, only my mother. No art. No yoga. No meditation. The quiet. The dawn. Finally after 2 years of physical pain and totally ignoring the real causes of my illness, a doctor prescribed to me the "pain therapy". I can now "get up" and "sit down" now. Although I can not leave the house because of architectural barriers, I have begun a new life. But what was I to do? On the web I had made friends with Sita who had a blog / reviews of beauty products. She's asked me to collaborate with her, so I did. The feeling of being alive and useful was back. The beauty is in the art, and art is a dialogue within the divine, as always. And the beauty inspired me to try a different form of meditation: create, manipulate matter, changing form and appearance. I see the sunset and I see the sunrise, every day ... I am lucky woman! There are no barriers or wheelchairs that may limit the sublime manifestation of the divine.

The Inspiration Behind Navy Street Charity On December 8, 1983, I left the hospital after visiting my mother and my newly born baby sister. Only to find out minutes later that an accident occurred during the delivery process. What was supposed to be a joyous occassion for my family turned out to be a time of severe duress. My mother sustained a sudden and traumatic spinal cord injury that occurred during delivery. This medical accident left my mother as a paraplegic with permanent nerve damage, loss of movement and feeling of her body from her waist down. She could no longer walk, be independant or care for her young family. She instantaneously had to deal with the fact that she was going to live out the rest of her life as a paraplegic in a wheelchair. This situation abruptly left her disabled and left me as a very scared 9 year old child. As I watched her go through the trials and tribulations of being a paraplegic and her new life confined to a wheelchair, I realized how challenging her life became, and how I was truly blessed that I was able to walk, run and play. In this new experience, with a new perspective I was utterly astonished at the amount of obstacles that existed in her world as I observed through my own eyes. I quickly realized that life as our family once knew it had changed forever, and that we as a family were all just introduced into a new world, particularily a world that was not well suited for wheelchairs. Our frustrations as a family quickly reached there peak when my mother could not easily access our own home. As a family we encountered daily sets of stairs inside and outside of our home. We no longer could visit the homes of many family members or friends due to the limitations of stairs and slowly we became secluded. I quickly learned a few tricks in order to help my mother. Out of sheer necessity, I learned how to lift my mother in her wheelchair up the set of 10 stairs that led her into our home. With inventiveness, I began to tilt and balance her wheelchair on its back wheels and lift her up one stair at a time. This was grueling for my small frame as a child and extremely frightening for my mother. This frustrating situation along with so many other challenges related to her condition has gone on for more than 30 years in my family's home, until I was inspired to do something that could help my mother as well as many others who are impacted the exact same way, and in the summer of 2016 Navy Street Charity was born. Navy Street Navy Street is a charitable organization that provides FREE PORTABLE WHEELCHAIR RAMPS. My aim is to help those who suddenly have to live out the remainder of their life from a wheelchair. A portable wheelchair ramp will provide individuals and their families with accessibility and inclusivity options. Navy Street is a metaphor for another street traveled that is different from the standard street or path. My mission is to optimize a persons life who is confined to a wheelchair and provide them with portable options regarding accessibility for the home or travel. The dictionary defines the word charity as simply the act of giving voluntarily to those in need. It's taken from the word caritas, or simply, love. In Colossians 3, the Bible instructs readers to "put on charity." Although I'm still not sure what that means, I love this idea. To wear charity. With Love, Sandra Rose Longo- Founder of Navy Street Charity.

The trials we overcome shape our character. I was born with a bone deficiency that caused doctors to believe I would never walk. My feet were deformed and were amputated when I was 11 months old. Growing up I was bullied because of my differences. I was not good at many things, although I was convinced I would be the best. I found a love on the track, regardless of my lack of talent in the subject. I continued to train, working towards becoming the best athlete I could be. I am now 17 years old and I am the fastest high schooler to ever come out of Utah in the 400m or 200m! (Able body) along with being a top 5 nationally ranked high school runner as a junior. Finally this last summer I was able to run in Rio For the Paralympic Games, and came home with a bronze and silver medal! People believed I would never walk, and I heard no my entire life. I came to a point where I was ready to take life into my own hands and make a difference! I'm excited to continue my career in track and field and hope to have lots of amazing experiences! Quote: "they told me I would never walk, so I learned to run instead"

Pain you can't explain My health has really declined since my spinal cord injury. I used to be very active, but now not so much. It's the pain that keeps me limited. I just want to list my crazy medical problems: Health Story 2006- First Brain Tumor found and Surgery with treatments, lost chunks of hair and when it grew back it was my normal red/blondish hair. 2009- The seizures started. 2010- The tumor returned and there was not a surgical option since there was so much scar tissue from the first surgery. 2013- I sustained my spinal cord injury, this opened up a whole new world of problems, and the Autonomic Dysreflexia is still bad. 2014- Diagnosed with Reynolds Syndrome, this is when you have vasospasms that cut off blood flow to the feet, legs, hands, nose, and ears. It can be 100 degrees and my feet will be freezing. When I have these flashes, it causes the affected areas to turn blue and black. It can cause frost bite, gangrene, and even lead to amputation. 2016- Diagnosed with Essential Thrombocythemia, which is a pre-stage for acute myeloid leukemia. I have been getting blood treatments. A week ago – I got diagnosed with Bronchitis, It’s not fun to stop breathing. So I have been doing my nebulizer treatments to help open me up, but the chest pain sucks. Few days ago- I fell from my wheelchair while having a seizure, landed on my face and banged it up good, but worst of all I blew 4 disks, so my pain is really bad right now. I don’t know if I am going to be able to handle this pain because it's horrible. I am holding on to hope because I know that the pain ends eventually. I have my days where I lose myself to pain meaning: I’m get grumpy, frustrated, and grow mad easily. Right now, I am dealing with so much pain that I can’t eat or sleep. All of this is just part of who I am. I am very lucky to have a great group family and friends who are super supportive, which means a lot to me. Thanks for your love and care for me. I can't explain how much I need it right now. I am used to a normal pain, but it is so much more intense when you add on something like this onto the problems I already have. This is just an unexplainable pain and without everyone sending prayers and standing beside me during this trouble - it is helping me so much!

My Health Journey Bio Hi, my name is Jazz. I am 23 years old from Pennsylvania, now living in sunny Florida. I have used a wheelchair for 5 years due to a rare disease known as Transverse Myelitis. This has left me an incomplete paraplegic, but not with an incomplete life! In 2014, I began playing sled hockey and was totally in love. I have been working my wheels off for the last two years to tryout for the women's national team. In August, I tried out and was able to make the developmental team! Despite struggling with epilepsy and a number of other conditions at the moment, I'm working towards building a better body to build a brighter athletic future. Follow Jazz's journey on Instagram: @keepingitjazzy27

Friends make your dreams come true! 🌴 My name is Philip Stephens, I’m Australian, and at the age of 18 I broke my neck at the C4 – 5 level in a surfing accident at one of Sydney’s northern beaches. Since that time I have been fortune enough to do a lot of travelling, and I am writing this from La Havana, Cuba, which is the thirty-second country that I have visited. A few days ago, while travelling around Peru with my two Argentinian friends, Emiliano Bisson @chocobisson and Marcos Peluffo @marcospeluffo , I achieved one of my dreams and something that most people would consider impossible for a quadriplegic guy. This was to reach the summit of Machu Pichu, the ancient ruins of the Inca Empire. After lots of planning, and a couple of medical setback in Lima, we arrived at the bus stop in Aguas Calientes for the 20-minute trip to the base of the ruins. Obviously the bus was not designed for a guy in a wheelchair, and with all of the other tourists looking on, all wondering how this could be achieved and what we were doing, my friends carried me on to the front seat of the bus, putting my wheelchair into the luggage hold at the back. The road from Aguas Calientes to the ruins is long, narrow, incredibly windy, and very rough. There was a lot of bouncing around, so my friends took turns to hold me in the bus seat. Once we arrived at the ruins, we met our guide, Victor. He was clearly surprised when we told him that our plan was to get to the top, and not just a 100 metres along the “easy” track. We had been allocated two and a half hours to explore the ruins, but it eventually took us six hours, with my two friends carrying me approximately 80% of the time, and the guide running along with the wheelchair in his hands. Obviously there were a crazy number of stairs, but they are not the stairs that you would normally find in your home; they are centuries old rocks that have all moved, are extremely uneven and no two are the same size. Even the pathways that are relatively level, all with a slight incline, are rough and uneven, to the point where I had to be carried along a number of these as well. At one point, I needed to be carried down 60 stairs in one movement. This was in the arms of my carer, and not in the wheelchair. It was both an incredibly physically and psychologically demanding day for all of us, but in the end we were all amazed at what we had achieved. When I think back, I can remember the three of us sitting and looking at the ruins. We could not stop smiling at each other, and the realisation of what we had achieved. Even Victor, our amazing tour guide, could not stop smiling. I still look back on it with disbelief, and quite often become emotionally moved when looking at the photos. For me, this is the greatest achievement of all my adventures, and only proves what can be done with the right attitude, and friends, to support you through life.

art I was born in Sweden in 1979 with a rare diagnosis AMC, which prevents me from using my arms and legs so I paint with my mouth. I need help with almost everything practical in my daily life and therefore I'm always surrounded by helpers, family or friends. It can be very stressful to constantly have another person behind or beside you, especially if you are a loner and highly sensitive person like me. Therefore, I love my studio. It's my refuge and when the door is closed it's just me and my creativity dancing together in harmony. I painted with dark colors & people without heads, legs or arms for a decade They were depicted often as being trapped, wounded or stuck. Maybe it was my way to deal with what I never really talked about, the fact that I am physically trapped in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Soon enough I even started to believe that these dark motifs were all I could do as an artist. Then my life took a turn for the worse In 2009, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was sure I would be dead before the year was over and this great sorrow stopped me from painting at all. I just sat in my studio, with silent tears on my face, staring at the easel. Day after day, a whole summer even passed. After several surgeries, many pain and tears and a whole lot of time in the hospital, the cancer was gone. I was lucky. It took a while, but suddenly I felt a rebirth in my life and my art! The need to paint in dark colors was gone. For the first time in a long time I wanted to paint in sparkling colors and not only did I want to use color; I wanted to paint ideas of harmony that is deep inside all of us. To express these ideas I started to paint women’s busts, depicting them with their eyes closed - almost as dreaming of that peaceful world we cannot always see. I have shown my artwork at art fairs, museums, galleries and castles in countries like Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and USA. My art has also won some prizes. For example: 1st Place at 'United Ink Flight 913 Art Fusion', Cradle of Aviation Museum, New York. You'll find my art at my website, on Facebook and Instagram.www.idjeli.se www.facebook.com/idj

My Journey Hi! My name is Robyn, and I'm an epilepsy patient from Maryland, and this is my story. My story begins on the evening of December 30th, 2015. I was going into the kitchen, and then face planted between the kitchen and the family room. Apparently I had a seizure, but don't remember anything after that. One of my parents called 911 and the next thing I remember is waking up in back of an ambulance going to the hospital. I only remember bits and pieces of being in the emergency room, so I'll just tell you what I do remember. I remember being moved from the gurney to a bed, I remember being brought in for a CAT scan, I remember the guy that took me, and I especially remember leaving the hospital. The Diagnosis Fast forward to a few days later my mom was looking into neurologists, and called my granddad (her dad) for some help. Since he used to on the board at Johns Hopkins, he used some of his contacts which lead us to The First Seizure Clinic at Johns. I had an MRI on January 10th, and then went to Hopkins on the 15th for an EEG and to see the doctor. I've had four more several more seizures since being diagnosed. But I do make the best of it, though. Like I participate in Special Olympics Maryland and Best Buddies. Epilepsy may affect my life, but it doesn't get to determine how I live it. I do! Footnote: I've also got ADHD/ADD that I had way before I was diagnosed with epilepsy.

What is Guillian Barrè Syndrome? On November 2nd, 2015, I, Darren Williams (@dwill_darren) woke up with a migraine and extreme tingling and numbness in my hands and feet. Over the course of that week, the migraine and tingling became progressively worse. It became harder to move my arms and harder to walk. After a week of this, I decided to take myself to Urgent Care. I went to an Urgent Care facility and they didn't know what was wrong, but they recommended I go to an ER immediately. By the time I drove myself to the ER (30 minutes away), I lost the ability to walk completely. I literally rolled myself out of my vehicle and army crawled in the parking garage until I found a garage attendant to get me a wheelchair. I remained in the hospital for about a week until they finally diagnosed me with Guillian Barrè Syndrome aka GBS. Guillian Barrè Syndrome is an autoimmune disease where your nervous system attacks itself. It can cause paralysis, muscle weakness, organ shutdown, and potentially death. Of course the physical pain is excruciating, but the mental anguish was worse. Watching your body slowly deteriorate is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. This syndrome affects you mentally, just as much as physically. After Being diagnosed with Guillian Barrè Syndrome, Nothing Improved In addition to not being strong enough to walk, I lost the ability to stand, move my legs, move my arms, lost the ability to grab items, feel sensations in my legs / feet & arms / hands. Here is where I pretty much hit my low point. I'm the guy that everyone relies on, I'm the strong personal trainer, former football player, track & field athlete, father to 6 month old child; but now I'm stuck in a hospital bed during Thanksgiving and on my birthday and I can't even use the bathroom without assistance. Things were rough. Without my positive attitude, and the support of my family and friends; recovery would have been an impossible feat. I slowly but surely began to regain strength within my arms and legs overcoming Guillian Barrè Syndrome I regained the ability to stand, then walk, then move my arms, then actually use the bathroom alone (lol small victories). Doctors told me I wouldn't walk for six months, but I was up and walking again within six weeks! I lost about 20 pounds while I was sick because it was hard to chew, but shortly after my hospital release I went back to the gym, and I am me again! I still suffer from extreme bouts of fatigue, muscle weakness, restless leg syndrome at nights, and whenever I over exert myself in the gym my body feels like it's vibrating from the inside out and I get extremely weak and it's hard for me to move (but this feeling passes completely in about 15-20 minutes and I'm back to normal). I'm still recovering from Guillian Barrè Syndrome to this day, but looking at me from the outside, most people would have no idea what I've been through in the last year. Hopefully my little story can inspire someone to keep pushing forward, stay strong, realize that we need to live everyday to the fullest, tomorrow is NOT guaranteed!

Bridging the gap between disability and dance, one step at a time. My name is Briju. I am a left-arm amputee I lost my arm in a bike accident at the age of 28. Dancing had always been a passion and one of my first thoughts in the hospital bed was that I need to figure out how to salsa with one hand. Thanks to my friends, soon I was on stage with them performing in Singapore. That really boosted my confidence to be up there continuing to do what I love to do. Today, I am one of the co-founders/trustees for a non-profit in India - One Step at a Time and one of the main initiatives I drive as a part of our NGO is to create accessible opportunities for PwDs to pursue the passion of dance and its different forms. Our team loves to perform and we hope to remove any awkwardness and misconceptions around the topic of disability through dance.

And so the madness begun. Throughout my life, Pink Floyd and 'The Wall' album have played a big role. Sometime around September 2010 I saw a video on youtube from the new tour of Roger Waters: 'The Wall'. That's when I set my mind to travel to see that show. I found a way by a company that sells event travel packges (Flights ACC and events tickets...so easy). I contacted them and made the arrangements. I picked up a friend of mine that was also a Pink Floyd fan, and the following May I packed up my wheels and we flew to London. As a disabled kid I traveled locally and abroad with organizations and groups I never traveled by myself before. Seeing and doing whatever we wanted on our own time made me feel completly free for the first time in my life. It was the first time I discovered the world outside my own comfort zone. We had the best time sightseeing and following my friend's advice to visit Camden Town (My favorite place in the world outside of festivals). Back then the markets were all over the canal. The money pigs didn't eat that amazing place yet. It's still my favorite place to be and stay in London. The Wall broke down on stage.  A wall broke down in me. During that magical evening I met my best friend and drank my first beer as if it was water. I was so high on the energy from the music jumping up & down from my seat and went nuts like never before. Since that concert, over the last five years I've traveled by myself with the Wheels of Madness (my beat up wheelchair). I've seen countless concerts, shows and artists, visited more than 35 festivals including Tomorrowland, Sziget, NOS Alive, Rock Werchter & Isle of Whight. Most importantly I've been blessed by coming across and meeting the most amazng people and friends. Without some of them I couldn't go anywhere by myself in a wheelchair. If this article helps someone follow whatever it is she/he loves regardless of their physical limitations, I'd be happy. There's a band called 'Do Make Say Think' Please follow it!