Partners for Pleasure Two New Vancouver Organizations Are Teaming up to Improve Intimacy Opportunities for People with Disabilities
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A DOG’S LIFE CRANBERRIES REVISTED SCI AND FATIGUE theSPINAL CORD INJURY BC spinAUTUMN 2012 Partners for Pleasure Two new Vancouver organizations are teaming up to improve intimacy opportunities for people with disabilities AUTUMN 2012 THE SPIN 1 NEW CATHETER FOR MEN Designed for discretion A compact and practical male catheter for use anywhere, anytime Considerably smaller than standard products, SpeediCath® Compact Male’s sleek, compact design makes catheterisation a more discreet process.1 • Designed for discretion • Compact and practical, both in and out of the home • Can be inserted without touching coated section1,2 Learn more and sign up for free samples at speedicathcompactmale.coloplast.ca 1 Chartier-Kastler et al. Submitted (acceptance study). 2 Bagi et al. Submitted (pilot study). Coloplast develops products and services that make life easier for people with very personal and private medical conditions. Working closely with the people Coloplast Canada who use our products, we create solutions that are sensitive to their special needs. We call this intimate healthcare. Our business includes ostomy care, 3300 Ridgeway Dr Unit 12 urology and continence care and wound and skin care. We operate globally and employ more than 7,000 people. Mississauag ON L5L 5Z9 Tel: 1-877-820-7008 The Coloplast logo is a registered trademark of Coloplast A/S. © 2012-01 2 THE SPINAll rights reservedAUTUMN Coloplast 2012 A/S, 3050 Humlebæk, Denmark. www.coloplast.ca NEW CATHETER 8 FOR MEN contents AUTUMN 2012 6 features 8 Battling Fatigue 14 ICORD researchers are collaborating to better grasp the causes of SCI-related fatigue and find new approaches to bring relief to those who suffer from it. 12 A Job Well Done Reflections on the career of a hard-working assistance dog—and a woman’s best friend. 14 Partners for Pleasure A new non-profit organization is teaming up with a new sexual coaching agency to provide companionship and sexual fulfillment opportunities to people with disabilities. 18 Lady of the Rings 12 Vernon curler extraordinaire and new SCI BC peer coordinator Sonja Gaudet is already dreaming of 2014 and a third Paralympic gold. In the meantime, she’s doing all Designed for discretion she can to get other wheelchair users out on the ice. departments 4 editor’s message Canadian TV coverage of the Paralympics is sadly lacking. A compact and practical male catheter 18 6 gear & gadgets for use anywhere, anytime New products, devices and aids to daily living that might make a difference in your life. What’s Happening Online Considerably smaller than standard products, SpeediCath® Compact Male’s sleek, 1 compact design makes catheterisation a more discreet process. 7 events An Accessible Travel Series • Designed for discretion Important dates for your calendar. • Compact and practical, both in and out of the home youtube.com/SpinalCordInjuryBC • Can be inserted without touching coated section1,2 17 services Photos of Summer Peer Events Learn more and sign up for free samples at Under one roof: in praise of the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre. speedicathcompactmale.coloplast.ca facebook.com/SpinalCordInjuryBC 1 Chartier-Kastler et al. Submitted (acceptance study). 20 money 2 Bagi et al. Submitted (pilot study). What’s the catch with Canada’s RDSP? There isn’t one. Share Your Wedding & Anniversary Photos! 22 last word flickr.com/groups/peermilestones_/ It turns out that cranberries may be able to prevent urinary Coloplast develops products and services that make life easier for people with very personal and private medical conditions. Working closely with the people Coloplast Canada who use our products, we create solutions that are sensitive to their special needs. We call this intimate healthcare. Our business includes ostomy care, 3300 Ridgeway Dr Unit 12 tract infections after all. urology and continence care and wound and skin care. We operate globally and employ more than 7,000 people. Mississauag ON L5L 5Z9 Tel: 1-877-820-7008 The Coloplast logo is a registered trademark of Coloplast A/S. © 2012-01 All rights reserved Coloplast A/S, 3050 Humlebæk, Denmark. www.coloplast.ca AUTUMN 2012 THE SPIN 3 editor’s message n thespin The Spin is the quarterly magazine of Spinal Cord Injury BC. An online edition of The Spin is available on the SCI BC website What Happened www.sci-bc.ca. Executive Editor .................................................... Chris McBride Managing Editor ...................................................... Cliff Bridges to the Paralympics? Assistant Editor ................................................Candice Vallantin Design ..................................................................... Cliff Bridges Contributors ....................Maureen Brownlee, Fernando Romero ACCESS AND INCLUSION. These are important concepts for the disability SUBSCRIPTIONS Free subscriptions are available for BC residents and health community, and they have been at the heart of SCI BC’s mission since 1957. professionals: On the surface, they seem necessarily linked—after all, without access, it’s very T: 604.324.3611 TF: 1.877.324.3611 E: [email protected] ADVERTISING hard to achieve inclusion. Advertising rates and a publishing calendar for The Spin are However, we must be careful about what we mean by access. And we must available online at www.sci-bc.ca, or by contacting: Gary Steeves E: [email protected] T: 604.326.1210 not assume that, because we are a province and nation that has often led the SUBMISSIONS way in improving the accessibility of our communities, that BC or Canada is a Submissions, suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated—please email these to [email protected] or send leader in inclusion. Case in point: the Paralympics and Canada’s inexcusably by regular mail to: pitiful television coverage of the Games. Assistant Editor, The Spin Spinal Cord Injury BC, 780 SW Marine Drive The Paralympics have become a powerful symbol of achievement and possi- Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 5Y7 bility for people with disabilities. Through sport, we witness the triumph of the COPYRIGHT You are welcome to reproduce material from The Spin after human spirit in overcoming physical and societal obstacles, and through this, gaining permission from the Executive Editor. All reproduced society moves toward greater inclusion for all. material must be appropriately acknowledged. Too bad, then, that the Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, which The opinions expressed in The Spin are not necessarily those of SCI BC. Also, SCI BC does not endorse nor is responsible for held the broadcast rights to the 2012 Paraplympics, chose not to dedicate TV the products or services advertised within The Spin. time to the Paralympics. Too bad that the Consortium’s sports networks barely Publications Mail Agreement #: 40684573 ISSN #: 1922-9445 covered highlights from the games. Too bad that they missed the opportunity to Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: push the stories of triumph and disappointment on their websites or smartphone Spinal Cord Injury BC, 780 SW Marine Drive Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 5Y7 T: 604.324.3611 apps. Yes, there was online coverage, which is some consolation, but based on To update/change delivery address, email [email protected] or the level of overall coverage, it’s clear that Canadian broadcasters do not deem call 604.324.3611. disability to be important. They are not supporters of inclusion. SCI BC HEAD OFFICE 780 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 5Y7 Contrast this with coverage in Great Britain, a country not known for the T: 604.324.3611 TF: 1.877.324.3611 F: 604.326.1229 accessibility of its cities and infrastructure. I had the good fortune of passing E: [email protected] REGIONAL PEER CONTACTS through London on the closing day of the Olympics and again on day three of Fort St. John: Lori Slater, Peer Program Coordinator the Paralympics. I witnessed the equal excitement the city had for both. They T: 250.787.1912 E: [email protected] fully embraced the Paralympics—in spirit and on TV, where full coverage of the Kelowna: James Hektner, Peer Program Coordinator E: [email protected] Paralympics was provided daily. Nanaimo: Bert Abbott, Peer Program Coordinator This drove home the rather obvious fact that simply making our communities T: 250.616.1186 E: [email protected] physically accessible is not enough to create full inclusion. Access to the stories Prince George: Brandy Stiles, Peer Program Regional Leader T: 250.563.6942 E: [email protected] and events that can change societal attitudes and remove perceptual barriers is Quesnel: Lynn Turner/Alison Duddy, Volunteer Peer Program just as, if not more important for enhancing inclusion for all. Coordinators E: [email protected] I hope that all of the people who have complained to me about the lack of Para- Summerland: Marty Newstead, Volunteer Peer Coordinator E: [email protected] lympic coverage here in Canada send their complaints to the TV networks that Vancouver: Brad Jacobsen, Peer Program Coordinator failed to provide it. I hope that by the time the Winter Paralympics roll around T: 778.231.0713 E: [email protected] Patty Clarke, Peer Prgoram Coordinator in 2014, that I can turn on the TV and see Paralympic curler and SCI BC Peer E: [email protected] Coordinator Sonja Gaudet competing for Gold and inspiring even more people Vernon: Sonja Gaudet, Peer Program Coordinator E: [email protected] with disabilities to take up curling or other forms of sport or active living. Victoria: Scott Heron, Peer Program Coordinator It’s only through broader access to important and T: 250.812.0773 E: [email protected] culturally significant events like the Paralympics that Williams Lake: Sandra Stuart, Volunteer Peer Program Coordinator [email protected] we can truly leverage the relative accessibility of our SCI BC acknowledges the financial support of the Province physical infrastructure to become a true leader in in- of British Columbia and the Rick Hansen Institute.