Nurses on Wheels
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UNITED SPINAL ASSOCIATION’S Normie Etiquette Galápagos Adventure Body Language life beyond wheels BATTLING BIAS, FINDING THEIR NICHE: Nurses on Wheels newmobility.com APR 2019 $4 DO YOU HAVE A RELIABLE SOLUTION TO YOUR BOWEL PROGRAM? Use CEO-TWO® Laxative Suppositories as part of CEO-TWO works reliably within 30 minutes. These your bowel program. These unique CO2-releasing unique suppositories are even self-lubricating, suppositories allow you to control your bowel making their use as easy and convenient as possible. function and prevent constipation and related problems, such as autonomic dysreflexia. Regain • 3 year shelf life confidence in social and work situations by • Reduces bowel program time to under 30 minutes avoiding embarrassing accidents with CEO-TWO! • Water-soluble formula • Does not cause mucous leakage Many laxatives and suppositories are not reliable • Self-lubricating and are unpredictable. 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ReWalk is a robotic exoskeleton that “Using ReWalk, I have more enables individuals with Spinal Cord energy and less pain.” Injuries to stand and walk, and is cleared Ret. Army Specialist Gene L. by the FDA for home and community use. How Do I Know If I Am a Candidate for a ReWalk? Contact ReWalk for a Free Screening ReWalk Robotics www.rewalk.com/contact 200 Donald Lynch Boulevard, Marlborough, MA 01752 or 508.251.1154 Option 2 www.rewalk.com ReWalk_Vet_FullPgAd_v10.indd 1 11/28/18 11:18 AM CONTENTSIssue 307 - April 2019 life beyond wheels COVER STORY NURSES ON WHEELS FIGHT BACK In the second installment of our look at how wheelchair 24 users are changing the medical field from the inside, TIM GILMER shifts his focus from doctors to nurses. Despite facing many of the same barriers, stereotypes and blatant discrimination that wheelchair-using doctors encounter, a growing army of nurses on wheels is fighting the system and advocating for changes that will benefit everyone, with and without disabilities. Cover Photo by Mark Woolcott Contents Photo by Christian Guerithault/Abilities360 FEATURES 14 SAY IT WITH A SMILE OR A FIST How do you convey all the subtleties of nonverbal commu- DEPARTMENTS nication when you don’t have full use of your body? BROOK MCCALL shares strategies for overcoming the obstacles. 4 BULLY PULPIT 20 THE ACCESSIBLE GALÁPAGOS 5 BEHIND THE STORIES The islands and animals that inspired Charles Darwin can now 6 SHARE inspire you, no matter your abilities. MAX WOODBURY reports 9 LIVE WELL on the spectacular sights, including tortoises — lots of tortoises. 10 NEWS ANALYSIS 12 HOW WE ROLL 34 NORMIE ETIQUETTE 42 RESEARCH MATTERS Everyone agrees that #AbledsAreWeird. Thankfully REGAN LINTON has some advice on how to best handle annoying ABs. 44 ERVIN 47 CLASSIFIEDS 38 DOES THE STING EVER GO AWAY? 48 LAST WORD Finding a silver lining amidst pain, unwanted health issues and society’s cruel eye is a lot for anyone to handle. RICHARD HOLICKY talks with wheelers to see how they cope with SCI. life beyond wheels BULLYBy Ian PULPITRuder NEW MOBILITY IS THE MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF UNITED SPINAL ASSOCIATION THE MOST ACCESSIBLE PLACE ON EARTH PRESIDENT & CEO: JAMES WEISMAN VP OF PUBLICATIONS: JEAN DOBBS Google tells me that the Los Angeles Con- of the three days he silently went about his vention Center is approximately 30 miles business — up, over, down, repeat. from Disneyland. In Southern California These were but two of the hundreds EDITORIAL terms, that’s anywhere from one to three of exhibitors, all proudly displaying their PUBLISHER: JEAN DOBBS hours away by car, but when I attended wares and trying to convince you that your L.A.’s recent Abilities Expo, you could have EXECUTIVE EDITOR: JOSIE BYZEK life would be better with their products in convinced me that I was rolling through EDITOR: IAN RUDER it. Every sort of bed, lift, wheelchair and Anaheim’s famed theme park. ASSOCIATE EDITOR: SETH MCBRIDE accessible vehicle you can imagine was Over the event’s three days, a record EDITOR EMERITUS: TIM GILMER crowd overtook an empty hangar and trans- SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: BOB VOGEL “As a first-timer I found it formed it into a raucous and bustling bazaar of all things disability, rivaling the world’s particularly hard to know busiest markets — a diverse feast for the where to focus.” CUSTOMER SERVICE senses unlike anything found elsewhere. Toll-free 800/404-2898, ext. 7203 I’d imagine the three-day whirlwind is somewhere on the floor, waiting for you to overwhelming for even the most seasoned test it. There were even leaf-guard gutters attendees, but as a first-timer I found it and a futuristic vacuum-like device for ADVERTISING SALES particularly hard to know where to focus. washing your hair. 718/803-3782 By the time the hordes of attendees had That’s not even getting into the MANAGER, CORPORATE RELATIONS: filled the floor, banners hanging high above regularly scheduled events: all types of MEGAN LEE, EXT. 7253 the rows of vendors served as the only adaptive sports (para badminton, anyone?), AD MATERIALS: DEANNA FIKE, EXT. 7250 indicator that any sort of order had ever ex- a climbing wall with every adaptive aid isted. I was stationed at a booth somewhere you could dream up, and dance and music near the center of the madness. PRODUCTION performances highlighting an endless array Groups of wheelchair users and scooter PRODUCTION MANAGER: DEANNA FIKE of abilities. At one point, over the din of riders blocked the majority of the intersec- the crowd, they even announced that a tions between rows, while herds of occupa- CIRCULATION support wolf was prowling the premises tional therapy students roamed from booth CIRCULATION MANAGER: (take that, Mickey Mouse!). to booth, and intrepid solo attendees weaved BEVERLY SMITH In one quadrant, an endless line waited their way through the occasional openings. CIRCULATION COORDINATOR: for free wheelchair repairs next to a queue At the booth to my left, a gentleman MARIA KURTZ giddily anticipating the arrival of TV and and his wife demonstrated a device to help internet star Zach Anner. Circles of friends POSTMASTER: Send address changes to New wheelchair users ascend and descend stairs. Mobility, 120-34 Queens Blvd, #320, Kew Gardens With a handsome suit and well-coiffed hair, commandeered some of the few open NY 11415. Subscription rates: $27.95/year; $35.95/ spaces to catch up, while newbies looked year in Canada; $67.95/year international via he could have easily passed for an emcee or airmail. New Mobility (ISSN 1086-4741), Volume magician, and watching him effortlessly lift to the banners for guidance. Smiles and 30, Issue 307, is published monthly by United the dolly-like device he was peddling up and engaged faces abounded. Spinal Association, 120-34 Queens Blvd, #320, Other than one overtaxed elevator with a Kew Gardens NY 11415. Copyright 2019, all rights down the stairs, over and over again, I did reserved. Reproduction without permission of any begin to wonder if he was hypnotizing me. perpetual line, everything was incredibly ac- material contained herein is strictly prohibited. We Turning the other way, I was equally cessible, and we were surrounded by people welcome comments; we reserve the right to edit submissions. drawn in by the specter of a salesman who just get it. Even if we weren’t officially at Disneyland, together we provided a pretty Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, NY showing off his indoor lift by raising and additional mailing offices. himself up from a chair, over a few feet good template, should the park planners and down to the floor, only to then reverse want to replace its Small World with some- www.newmobility.com the process and repeat. When a customer thing a little more accessible and, shall we www.unitedspinal.org inquired, he’d engage, but for the majority say, less annoying? How about, Ability Land? 4 NEW MOBILITY life beyond wheels BEHIND THEWith Ian Ruder STORIES CONTRIBUTING EDITORS MICHAEL COLLINS MIKE ERVIN ROXANNE FURLONG ALEX GHENIS life beyond wheels RICHARD HOLICKY KATE MATELAN Looking back over my emails from Tim Gilmer since he ALLEN RUCKER started working on his two-part series on how wheel- ROBERT SAMUELS chair users are impacting the medical system from the ERIC STAMPFLI inside, a common theme quickly emerges: “Can I get ELLEN STOHL another page?” “Is there any way we can add more BOB VOGEL space to this story?” “I just interviewed a new doctor, LOREN WORTHINGTON is there any more room?” The requests became so fre- quent I began to associate seeing his name in my inbox with the need to reconfigure our plans. What started off as a single story evolved into two cover-length fea- COMMUNITY PARTNERS tures and too many redesigns to count.