Filed under: Themes, Standard Insomniatic Fare

Sleep Apnea Therapy improves your golf game!

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Filed under: Uncategorized

Warren Macdonald knows a LOT about motivation. He famously (see appearances on Oprah, Larry King Live, Vicki Gabereau, The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, etc) survived a harrowing, agonizing ordeal while mountain climbing, when he was trapped beneath a one-ton boulder in a freak rock fall. Macdonald’s test of will lasted two full days before a helicopter arrived. He was rescued, but the accident cost him both legs.

Ten months after becoming a double above-knee amputee, Macdonald, who currently lives in Vancouver and travels worldwide as a professional speaker, climbed Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain “using a modified wheelchair and the seat of his pants.”

A year later, he traveled through some of the most inhospitable terrain in Australia and climbed Federation Peak.

In winter ‘03, he became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Africa’s tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro (19,222ft).

And more recently, in a mind-bogglingly punishing climb that required more than 2800 pull-ups over 4 days, he made an ascent of America’s tallest cliff face, El Capitan.

He is also the only known above knee amputee to make an ascent of Canada’s landmark frozen waterfall, the 600 ft “Weeping Wall“ in Alberta.

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For more, visit…

warren-macdonald.com
twitter.com/warrenmacdonald
youtube.com/warrenmacdonald
facebook.com/warrenmacdonaldunlimited

Then…

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Filed under: Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board

When Rob Buren broke his back mountain biking last October, he lost more than the use of his legs—he lost the physical confidence his 6-foot-2 frame had always given him.

And though the 38-year-old father of two quickly learned sporting activities such as hand cycling and sit skiing, it wasn’t until he took a new self-defence class for wheelchair-users that he began to feel at ease with his new paralyzed status.

“When you become a paraplegic and are in a chair, physically your world changes. You’re looking up all of a sudden,” he says. “(The class) was a great way for me to get to know my body again, to get comfortable in the chair and to build up a sense of confidence.”

The course, taught at Neuro Core Physiotherapy & Pilates Centre in Richmond Hill, [Ontario] was developed by Grant Murray, a taekwondo black belt, and Rich VanderWal, a recreation therapist at a rehab facility.

Each class begins with … Continue reading this article and watch a corresponding video on thestar.com

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Filed under: Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board

MAPLEWOOD, N.J. — “Circle six, parry four, parry, riposte,” Mickey Zeljkovic chanted, running Bianca Hollywood, 13, through her fencing moves.

Bianca has spina bifida and a pronounced S curve to her spine. But when she wears her mask and lamé, the underjacket that conducts electricity during fencing bouts, she can compete with fencers who can walk, as well as those who cannot.

“It’s a lot of fun, but it takes a lot of time to learn some of the moves,” she said after her session at the New Jersey Fencing Alliance.

The fencing club, in this suburban Essex County township, is developing what are believed to be the only wheelchair fencing classes for young people in the Northeast. Mr. Zeljkovic, who has coached Tariq al Qallaf, an adult world-champion wheelchair fencer, trains a handful of young people in the program, which began in May.

At the club’s headquarters, essentially a 17,500-square-foot room that holds 200 able-bodied competitors some weekends, the wheelchairs are secured to brackets that keep them from moving. Each bracket costs up to $8,000 and positions the duelers an appropriate distance from each other (determined by the fencer with the shorter reach).

The wheelchair-adapted sport traces its roots to veterans returning from World War II, and is only recently attracting followers among young people, with training programs in Atlanta, San Antonio and San Diego, among others. There are now only 27 wheelchair athletes in the United States Fencing Association, so the staff at the club believes there is ample opportunity for young people who start now to reach national-level competitions and even the Paralympic Games.

George Janto, president of the fencing club, hopes to have at least a dozen young fencers in training this year, and is looking for more participants, whose training and competition costs would be covered by the club and its fund-raising efforts. His first six fencers have conditions like spina bifida and cerebral palsy, as well as spinal cord injuries, and were … Continue reading this story on nytimes.com

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Filed under: Uncategorized

“Three accessible playgrounds are being built as a part of a legacy of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The province [of British Columbia], Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Rick Hansen Foundation are each contributing to the $1.2 million project. The playgrounds will be built at Kits Beach in Vancouver, the Middle Arm Waterfront Greenway in Richmond and the Celebration Plaza in Whistler. Those in Whistler and Richmond will be built in time for the Games. Vancouver will get its park by next summer.”

Every single city should have at least one accessible playground in its jurisdiction.

Does YOURS????

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Filed under: Uncategorized

Brent Boyd #62

Quoting Brent Boyd, Former Minnesota Viking and founder of Dignity After Football:

“The carnage left behind from decades of NFL concussions is unspeakable. The only thing worse is the NFL’s entrenched stance not to acknowledge or accept responsibility or any liability—as every other American business must adhere to. The NFL, by virtue of compounding billions of dollars each year, is above the law, legally and morally.

I played seven years with the Vikings. I am 52 years old, have been suffering from post-concussions since 1980, and was diagnosed with early dementia and Alzheimer’s at the young age of 49. The NFL insists concussions could not be remotely responsible, despite countless concussions or hitting the rock hard original Astro-Turf. My headaches, total lack of energy (I am reduced to sleeping most of the day after graduating with Honors from UCLA, and being accepted to law school) are only silly coincidences according to the NFL’s corrupt disability system … Continue reading this editorial

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Filed under: Themes, Wheelchairman of the Board

Via wkowtv.com comes this great story about a wheelchair athlete named Jeremy Lade:

“When Jeremy Lade (pronounced LAH-day) heard about an upcoming racquetball tournament in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin that featured some of the best players in the world, he wanted to take a shot at playing the best. But for Lade to even play is pretty amazing. Lade is in a wheelchair. He says they adapt some rules for him to play. For instance he gets two bounces to return instead of the standard one bounce in racquetball.

Lade wanted a new challenge because he is already pretty dominate in wheelchair basketball, and as director of athletics for wheelchair sports at UW-Whitewater, Lade is an inspiration to other people with disabilities.

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Here’s video:

Jeremy Lade featured on WKOW-TV

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Filed under: Themes, Cerebral Ballsy

Glenda Watson Hyatt shares her experiences living with cerebral palsy to motivate and inspire others to think about how they perceive their own situation and their own world around them. She does all this by typing with only her left thumb!

Quoting the great Glenda Watson Hyatt:

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One thing about being in a loving and supportive marriage is taking an interest and learning about one another’s hobbies and passions. One of Darrell’s interests is watching car racing, particularly NASCAR. Over the years I have learned way more about NASCAR racing than I ever thought I wanted to know.

Sunday afternoons during the season typically finds Darrell watching the televised NASCAR race. I watch a few laps with him, ask a few pesky questions—Why was a caution called? What does [insert racing terminology] mean? How many more laps?—then I carry on folding cloths, cleaning the cat box or tweeting with friends before going back to watch a few more laps with my hubby.

While watching one race, Darrell mentioned that his dream was to ride in a NASCAR and to feel the speed.

For a guy who was heartbroken at 16 because he was not able to learn how to drive, even with hand controls available, because of his double vision and lack of depth perception, his dream had extra meaning.

I filed away that tidbit.

Then, during a race earlier this spring, I received an email from… [Continue reading this post on Glenda's blog]

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Filed under: Campaign Watch

Hey PoolTablesDirect.com…quit being assholes! It took the members of the Mental Health Association in Jefferson County nearly three years to raise the funds for their new 8-foot pool table. You cashed their $2,297 check July 11 and never sent them their table.

Your new slogan should be:

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“PoolTablesDirect.com
We put the ‘liar’ in billiards!”

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Filed under: Irked Videos

If this is fake, well it ought to be real!

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