A Day in the Life Four Wheelers on What It Takes Life Beyond Wheels

A Day in the Life Four Wheelers on What It Takes Life Beyond Wheels

Back to School A Very Personal Letter Sommelier on Wheels A Day in the Life Four Wheelers on What It Takes life beyond wheels newmobility.com SEP 2015 $4 NATURAL MOBILITY WITH THE WIJIT LEVER-DRIVE & BRAKING SYSTEM FROM INNOVATIONS HEALTH fter breaking both of his legs and sustaining other serious injuries during a night training jump while a member of the 37th Engineer Battalion, Iraq War veteran Josh Steward was forced into a manual wheelchair. (800) 659-4548 www.InnovationsHealth.com Powered by NATURAL MOBILITY WITH THE WIJIT LEVER-DRIVE & BRAKING SYSTEM FROM INNOVATIONS HEALTH “I didn’t know if I would ever be able to do the friends, I flew up and down the hills while they things I love again,” said Josh. “I’m able to get were 100 yards behind, struggling to keep up.” around for short distances with a cane or crutches, Because Wijits don’t require you to grasp and but most of the time I have to be in a wheelchair, release, they are perfect for individuals with and because of hand injuries I can’t even get around limited hand function. And Wijit’s inverted-press a grocery store using push-rims.” Josh has regained motion is much easier on the shoulders than his mobility with the Wijit lever drive & braking the forward rotation of the shoulder required system, and is now able to get healthy exercise while for push-rim use. Wijits feature a nearly 1-2 gear pursuing his love of nature. ratio that makes it easier to climb hills, and its “With Wijits, I can easily climb hills, turn on a dime, independent brakes allow you to easily maneuver and go just about anywhere I want.” Whether and safely descend. outdoors or at the mall, Wijits allow Josh to live his Covered by the VA and most public & private life to the fullest. “I’ve been to Disneyland twice with insurance, Wijits are easily installed on most my Wijits and was able to spend all day enjoying the manual wheelchairs. Call or visit us online to learn park without my wife having to push me around,” more, and then ask your doctor for a prescription he said. “When we were in San Francisco with some for Wijits of your own. EXTEND YOUR REACH WITH THE KINOVA JACO JACO is the assistive robotic arm from Innovations Health that attaches to nearly any power wheelchair and is operated by most controllers (including sip and puffs) to allow you to eat, drink, open doors, and perform a wide variety of ADL tasks without assistance. Visit www. InnovationsHealth.com or call us at (800) 659-4548 for more information. Personal online or in- person demonstrations are availableEr uponGO saferequest. transfertrans harness ErGOtrans GoWing safe transfer harness Powered by WHILL is Now On Sale! Our production models are finally ready to be shipped. Plan your weekend without thinking twice about where you can go. You can take WHILL out with your friends and enjoy brunch at your favorite cafe. WHILL is a personal mobility device for everyone, so you do not need a prescription for purchase. Order your WHILL today. Book a Test Drive The WHILL Model A is not considered to be a medical device and has not been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for review or clearance. 1 (844) MY-WHILL | whill.us WHILL Magazine Ad - August.indd 1 7/2/2015 5:09:44 PM CONTENTS VOLUME 26 NUMBER 264 September 2015 life beyond wheels FEATURES 13 NIPPING INFECTIONS BEFORE THEY BUD Conventional wisdom says to take antibiotics sparingly. What if conventional wisdom is wrong? BY TIM GILMER 19 THE WINE MAN For sommelier and para Yannick Benjamin, nothing is better than bringing people together over a great bottle of wine. BY IAN RUDER 25 LETTER TO A MOTHER LAURITA TELLADO was asked a heart-rending question, “How can I ensure I won’t have a baby with your disability?” 44 CHASING THAT DEGREE Going to college after an SCI is different, but not impossibly so. STEPHANIE LOLLINO shares stories of students who have made it work. Mowery Lauren by Photo COVER STORY FOUR WHEELERS, FOUR STYLES, ONE DAY 28 Have you ever wondered how other wheelchair users organize their days? We have, too, and asked ALEX GHENIS, PAULA LARSON, IAN JAQUISS and ELLEN STOHL to let us tag along with them for one day. We go to work with them, meet their families, learn how they adapt, and see what products they use to make it all come together. Cover and Contents Photos by Eric Stampfli DEPARTMENTS 4 BULLY PULPIT 40 UNITED SPINAL NEWS 5 CONTRIBUTORS 48 INNOVATIONS 6 LETTERS 50 PARA/MEDIC 8 NEWS 52 ERVIN 10 SCI LIFE 55 CLASSIFIEDS 39 SPOTLIGHT 56 CRIP BUZZ BULLY PULPIT life beyond wheels SEPTEMBER 2015 NEW MOBILITY IS THE MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF PRESIDENT & CEO: JAMES WEISMAN VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLICATIONS: JEAN DOBBS EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: JEAN DOBBS Criplessness EDITOR: TIM GILMER Many of us like to say things like, my dis- MANAGING EDITOR: JOSIE BYZEK ability does not define me, and I don’t think “On my 3,482nd birthday, I will SENIOR EDITOR: IAN RUDER SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: BOB VOGEL of myself as disabled, but really, just how far have lived 99.426 percent of my can we go with that mindset? I remember making travel easy for individuals with spinalEDITORIAL cord disabilitie SUBMISSIONS:s life with a disability.” [email protected] it was a big deal when I turned 40 and realized that since I was paralyzed at 20, paralyzed, below-the-knee amputee my life could be divided neatly in half — 50 wheelchair user in this class. What makes it percent able-bodied, 50 percent disabled. CUSTOMER SERVICE interesting, at least for me, is no one in the Now that I am 70, I have to lay hands on a Toll-free 800/404-2898, class knows that I am sitting in a wheel- calculator to figure the percentage. Let’s ext. 7203 chair. They only see me from my chest up. see, 50 divided by 70 = 72.429 percent of I have the perfect setup to exercise the my life I have lived with a disability. mindset of I don’t think of myself as disabled ADVERTISING SALES Mathematically, for those of us with because as far as anyone knows, I am not. 718/803-3782 acquired disabilities, the percentage grows Usually, in public or when meeting peo- NATIONAL SALES MANAGER: each day but will never quite reach 100 per- MEGAN LEE, EXT. 7253 cent, even if we live to be 3,482 years old. In ple in person for the first time, my disabil- AD MATERIALS: my case, on my 3,482nd birthday, I will have ity is the most obvious thing about me. But DEANNA FIKE, EXT. 7250 lived 99.426 percent of my life with a disabil- now that I have a foolproof opportunity to reverse that perception, I have no need for PRODUCTION ity. And what of those of us who were born with a disability? If you have been disabled it. In fact, the opposite is true. I am dying PRODUCTION MANAGER: DEANNA FIKE for 100 percent of your life, how can you not to tell my classmates that I am paralyzed, crippled, with one leg missing below CIRCULATION think of yourself as disabled? I will let you in on a little secret. At the the knee, and that I have been wheeling CIRCULATION MANAGER: age of 70 I enrolled in an online class at a around for 50 years. My crippled identity is BEVERLY SMITH major university. It doesn’t matter what the just bursting at the seams to express itself! CIRCULATION COORDINATOR: Calm down, Gimpster … calm down. MARIA KURTZ subject is. The class is run like an intimate workshop. We started with eight in the But since the class has nothing to do POSTMASTER: Send address changes to New Mobility, 120-34 class, and now we are down to seven. We with disability, I can’t find a logical way to Queens Blvd, #320, Kew Gardens NY 11415. Subscription rates: $27.95/year; $35.95/year in Canada; meet once weekly for three hours by Skyp- divulge my true identity, unless I decide $67.95/year international via airmail. ing. We look at each others’ faces and listen to spontaneously blurt it all out and spin New Mobility (ISSN 1086-4741), Volume 26, Issue 264, is published monthly by United Spinal Association. to ourselves interact with the instructor and circles and do wheelies in a wanton display Copyright 2015, all rights reserved. Reproduction without each other, and I would estimate that I am of — dare I say it? — disability pride. permission of any material contained herein is strictly prohibited. We welcome comments; the oldest student by at least 30 years. I’m Truth is, I feel damn good about my dis- we reserve the right to edit submissions. older than the instructor by about 20 years. ability. Without it, I am not me. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, NY and additional mailing offices. I’m also quite sure that I am the only — TIM GILMER www.newmobility.com 4 NEW MOBILITY CONTRIBUTORS life beyond wheels SEPTEMBER 2015 After sustaining an SCI in a car accident in 2002, Erin Gildner CONTRIBUTING went on to complete her undergraduate degree, get married EDITORS and work for the state of Arkansas in several different agencies MICHAEL COLLINS and positions. She is now a program specialist for the Arkansas MIKE ERVIN Disability and Health Program and hopes to complete her mas- ROXANNE FURLONG ter’s in public health by 2016 at the University of Arkansas for RICHARD HOLICKY Medical Sciences.

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