This is where the staff of the Reeve Foundation is sharing up-to-the-minute information and putting some context around the news affecting the spinal cord injury and paralysis community. Not to mention insight into what's going on here at the Foundation.
Feel free to comment and offer suggestions. We'll respond.
Posted by
JLoThursday, March 31, 2011
Get ready to gamble!
Join Life Rolls On founder, Jesse Billauer, star of Hawaii Five-O Scott Caan, and Grammy® winning recording artist Jason Mraz -- for Life Rolls On's first annual "A Night of Poker" hosted by poker legend Annie Duke (pictured)
Saturday, May 7, 2011
No-limit Texas Hold'em tournament
Hustler Casino
1000 W. Redondo Beach Blvd.
Gardena, CA 90247
5:00 p.m. Registration
6:00 p.m. Cards in the air
1st prize - $10,000 seat at the main event at the World Series of Poker!
Sponsorship and individual player spots are available, but hurry because early registration ends on April 15!
All proceeds benefit Life Rolls On, a non-profit organization and a subsidiary of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life for young people affected by spinal cord injury. Life Rolls On utilizes action sports as a platform to demonstrate the infinite possibilities beyond paralysis!
For more information or to register for the event, click here.
Join our community.
Posted by
JLoThursday, March 31, 2011
Posted by
JLoThursday, March 31, 2011
Ever since Rutgers' football player Eric LeGrand was spinal cord injured in October, we have been following his progress.
I remember when a friend a told me it happened, I remember sitting in front of my computer watching the clip of the hit that gave me chills, and I remember when I watched his first on-screen interview with ESPN sitting in my bed my eyes glued to the TV. I also won't forget now the smile that came over me this morning when I read that LeGrand has been released from Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation where he has been since November.
More than five months after being paralyzed from the neck down while covering a kickoff, Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand left a rehabilitation center Wednesday and returned home to Jackson, N.J.
LeGrand will live with his aunt following his departure from the Kessler Institute in West Orange, N.J., where he had been receiving treatment since Nov. 8, 2010.
"This is an exciting day for me to return to living with family," LeGrand said in a statement issued through Rutgers. "My family and I can't thank Kessler enough for all of the tremendous care and support I received as I continue rehab from my injury. It has meant so much to me to receive so many well wishes and prayers from everyone."
The 20-year-old will continue his rehabilitation as an outpatient, going to the Kessler Rehabilitation Center in Ocean Township twice a week and traveling to the Kessler Institute in West Orange once a week. LeGrand's breathing tube was removed last week.
There's no place like home, read the rest.
Have a look at some of our past posts about LeGrand.
Want to share your thoughts about the impact of football and SCI? Click here.
Janelle
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Posted by
JLoThursday, March 31, 2011
Posted by
JLoMonday, March 28, 2011
Have you entered your photos in the Reeve Foundation Faces and Places photo contest, yet? You have just four days left to enter your photos in either the travel or portrait categories. Please note, entrant must be living with paralysis.
Here's your chance to not only win bragging rights but to have a two-hour photography lesson with professional photographer, Christopher Voelker. Learn more about Christopher and his work on his website.
Judging for travel photos will be based on adherence to theme, originality, uniqueness of location, and 120 word or less caption about the photo and why it's important to you.
Judging for portrait photos will be based on adherence to theme, originality, photography skills, and 120 word or less caption about the photo and why it's important to you.
At right, is a portrait photo submitted by Melissa with the caption: This photo means a lot to me because it's off all my beautiful girls taken while we were on vacation, they're all looking at the camera, and Kaitlyn (who is a quadriplegic) has those eyes you could just swim in.
Enter your photos now! (And don't forget the caption!)
Janelle
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Categories:
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Posted by
JLoMonday, March 28, 2011
Our new research blog features posts from Reeve Foundation Knowledge Manager, Sam Maddox, about some of the latest updates in the spinal cord injury research field. Here is part of his most recent posting:
This just in: data has been published in the Journal of Neurotrauma from an acute SCI Phase I/IIa (safety) trial for a drug called Cethrin. The primary author is Michael Fehlings, M.D., Ph.D., University of Toronto, a member of the Reeve Foundation’s Science Advisory Council, a key advisor to the NeuroRecovery Network a principal investigator in the Foundation's North American Clinical Trials Network (NACTN).
In a nutshell, Cethrin appears to be safe and is well tolerated. Those with cervical injuries achieved significantly higher motor and sensory recovery than would be expected. Patients with thoracic injuries were not affected much by the drug.
According to the authors, “a cervical ASIA Grade A-injured patient is likely to spontaneously improve by approximately 10 motor points during the first year after SCI, while we observed average improvements of 21.3 and 27.3 points, at 12 months.”
The trial was not blinded nor did it feature a placebo control; nonetheless, say the authors, it is “very encouraging.”
The authors concede that many SCI folks “show some recovery after the first few days in under intensive care, and it has been argued that an ASIA assessment at 24 hours is not as reliable as one taken at 72 hours when the patient is more stable.”
Learn more about Cethrin's continued improvement and how it works.
Read some more posts from the SCI Research blog.
Join our community.
Posted by
JLoMonday, March 28, 2011
I admit, I enjoy sitting down at 10pm on weeknights and tuning in to catch up on my favorite soap opera, General Hospital. (I credit my grandma for getting me into this show!) Though I love GH, I kind of also wish I lived in Ireland so I could tune in to a storyline on one of their soaps, Emmerdale.
Emmerdale character Jackson Walsh, who was paralysed in a road accident last year, has been showing signs of depression recently. It has been reported that he will get his boyfriend and mother to help him take his life by crushing tablets into his drink, although producers of the soap aired on ITV and TV3 have refused to comment on the storyline.
But Spinal Injuries Ireland (SII), which helps 9,000 patients and their families, says it is wrong to only show the negative impact of living with such an injury. It said it will distress individuals with a similar injury, particularly those in the early stages of their injury when they are at their most vulnerable.
"We have had members on to us worried about the storyline ... The fear and anxiety this storyline is causing is unnecessary."
More on SII's reaction.
More outcry over the storyline here.
Read the actor's reaction to the role.
Janelle
Join our community.
Posted by
JLoMonday, March 28, 2011
Vinny Integlia shared his story with us about three years ago on our website. Integlia, who is living with quadriplegia, was injured at the age of 18 when he dove into an ocean wave in Middleton, Rhode Island. We thought it would be a good time to see how he's doing.
Integlia, 51, endured six months of rehabilitation, and learning how to live life in a wheelchair. Integlia and his mother, Mojca, (pictured) created a foundation to raise money for spinal cord injury research. In 1986, he graduated with a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Illinois. In 2003, Integlia moved with his parents to Tucson, Arizona where he still resides now.
Integlia is currently an active public speaker and has recently written a book, You and Me Against the World.
Read the rest.
Have a story you'd like to share? Tell us!
Join our community.
Posted by
GerthroFriday, March 25, 2011
Posted by
JLoFriday, March 25, 2011
We made an annoucement two weeks welcoming the newest Reeve Foundation ambassador to our family, professional soccer star, Daniel Hernandez. As the first male athlete to be named an ambassador we are thrilled to have him on board advocating for the Reeve Foundation.
Learn more about Daniel's personal connection to helping those living with paralysis.
Daniel is kicking on the soccer field and kicking off raising awareness of the Foundation with Gold's Gym March Music Madness Competition. Some people think basketball when they hear "March Madness," Gold's Gym thinks what is the ultimate workout song of all time! The person who nominated the winning song will win $5,000 for their charity of choice. So your're probably wondering, what is Daniel's pick? Eye of the Tiger, a classic!
Want to help Daniel win $5,000 for the Reeve Foundation? Click here to get to voting! Out of 64 songs, Daniel has already made it to the Sweet 16, so keep on checking back and voting! Once all votes are tallied, songs will continue to advance to the next round each week until there is a winner. The overall winning song will be announced on April 4.
And be sure to tell all your family and friends!
Vote now!
Janelle
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Posted by
JLoFriday, March 25, 2011
I look out my window and see sunshine! For many, spring break is upon us and summer vacations are just a few months away. But for many living with disabilities, this task may not always be as easy as one would hope.
A few days ago, we received an email from a woman living with spina bifida who was unfairly judged while taking a flight from Naples, Florida to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She wrote a letter to the airline about her experience and shared it with us. Here's part of the letter:
My frustration and humiliation grew. Many individuals with disabilities already have a deeply-imbedded shattered self-view—understandably so given all the longstanding prejudice and misconception in Western culture. But I knew I had been wronged. I had been unfairly judged, perceived & consequently ‘dealt with’ by you, AirTran Airlines, & I was not about to let it go. There have been far too many instances of disrespect brought about by airlines in recent years in relation to disability-related ignorance, and I was not about to be unfortunate incident # ___ .
Read the rest of it here.
Living with disabilities can make traveling more feared than fun. We spoke to wheelchair travelers and and a physician about their experiences, what to do to make sure your traveling trips are just as enjoyable as you hope to be, and tips to keep in mind.
Read Traveling with Your Wheelchair.
And don't forget to join the Accessible Travel group here in the online community. Talk to fellow travelers, ask questions, share your adventure experiences! And while your at it, remember to enter all those awesome travel photos in our Faces and Places Photo contest! (You have until March 31).
Happy traveling everyone!
Janelle
Join our community.
Posted by
JLoFriday, March 25, 2011
Posted by
JLoWednesday, March 23, 2011
Over the summer, we had released the Reeve Foundation's Guide to Apps for People Living with Paralysis. With all the latest and greatest smartphones out there, it was just what our community needed.
One of our Information Specialists, Donna, was contacted about a website, Tekla, with apps for power wheelchair users that helps with access for Android phones.
Tekla (formerly mEADL) is a collection of mobile open source and open hardware applications that may be used to enable access to, and extend the functionality of, mobile devices for people with motor impairments.
Our initial goal is to enable access to mobile devices through the same interfaces that powered-wheelchair users employ to move around, thus allowing them to easily select between controlling their wheelchair or controlling their mobile device.
Visit the Tekla website for more details and watch some great demo videos!
Get the free app now!
Have a look at the Reeve Foundation's Guide to Apps for People Living with Paralysis.
Here's some video of community member, Christina Symanski talking about why she loves her iPad!
Janelle
Join our community.
Posted by
JLoWednesday, March 23, 2011
Categories:
Research,
Chapter News,
Advocacy,
Events and Workshops,
Resource Center,
Quality of Life,
Community,
General,
Team Reeve,
Multicultural Outreach,
Campaign to Cure Paralysis,
Military,
Success Stories,
Life Rolls On,
Library
Posted by
JLoWednesday, March 23, 2011
