Issue 8 Fall 2014 Leaving Wheelchairs Behind And Taking To The … · post-injury, and not...
Transcript of Issue 8 Fall 2014 Leaving Wheelchairs Behind And Taking To The … · post-injury, and not...
South Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Association
Fall 2014Issue 8
1
A couple of summers before his
C 5/6 spinal cord injury, Jessie
Jones’ Boy Scout troop discovered
the thrill of soaring down a zip line.
It would be another 16 years before
Jones repeated the experience, this
time excitedly leaving his power
wheelchair behind.
Jones was one of 20 people who
took part in an October zip line
excursion hosted by the Midlands
Breeze Group and Fun4All, a non-
profit in Columbia that provides
recreational opportunities for
individuals with disabilities. The trip
to Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge,
Georgia, was funded through
a grant from the United Spinal
Association in conjunction with
Hollister Continence Care.
Because the camp serves children
with disabilities and serious illnesses,
the staff was well-equipped to assist
adults with spinal cord injuries. After
transferring out of their chairs, each
person was secured with a network
of equipment, which included a
special harness that resembles a
large sling. “This superman harness
gives better support to people
who may have limited mobility,”
explained Josh Cagliani, Camp
Dream Coordinator at Twin Lakes.
Participants were then lifted to the
top of a 40-foot tower, where one
by one they cascaded through the
woods and over a pond.
“Oh my gosh, it was so freeing,” said
Yanisse Scott, after the hydraulic lift
system lowered her back into her
wheelchair. “The super power I’ve
always wanted was to be able to fly
and I was flying,” she said.
Because Scott has good upper
body strength with her T-7 injury,
she chose to pull herself up the
rope to the top of the tower
instead of the staff hauling her. “It
was difficult,” she said, “But I just
kept telling myself: ‘You can do it.
You can do it.’”
Alicia Reagan also jumped at the
challenge of pulling herself up the
rope. Five years into paralysis
from transverse myelitis, Reagan
acknowledges the frustrations
that have come with her physical
limitations: “If you can take that
frustration and put it into finding
a different way to do something,
you can do what you want to.” By
the end of the day she had happily
checked “zip line” off her bucket list.
As their safety gear was removed,
participants’ immediate responses to
the experience included “amazing,”
“thrilling,” and “awesome.”
Leaving Wheelchairs Behind And Taking To The Sky
Jessie Jones sails over a pond.
Alicia Reagan’s ready for an adventure.
Continued on Page 4.
Leaving Wheelchairs Behind And Taking To The Sky
2
Like typical beauty queens, they wear sparkling
gowns and brilliant smiles. Yet unlike a typical
pageant, Ms. Wheelchair USA represents far more
than just glamorous women. The annual event
promotes self-confidence, achievements, and
community service of women with disabilities.
“It didn’t even feel like a competition because no
one was trying to be better than anyone else,” said
Jarae Anderson, Ms. Wheelchair South Carolina
2014. The 23-year-old resident of Ridgeland,
South Carolina, represented the state in July at the
pageant in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
As young as she is, Anderson is a veteran of spinal
cord injury. She was only seven years old when a
head-on collision left her with a T-7 injury and killed
three family members. She has vague memories of
months in the hospital and the life-threatening coma
that doctors didn’t think she would survive. Much of
her rehabilitation was through practical experience.
“I remember a physical therapist coming to my
house and making me push around the projects.
And I was expected to vacuum, wash dishes, and
do everything else other family members did,” she
recalled.
As she got older, the younger children in her low-
income housing development gravitated to her. “I’d
have one sitting on my lap, one standing next to
me holding my hand, and another pushing me.” She
returned their affection by providing a listening ear
and taking them to the park after school while their
parents were working.
Fast forward to the present and Anderson
volunteers at local nursing homes and is employed
as a cashier with Goodwill. She starting out sorting
clothes in a back room; it wasn’t the best fit for her
vivacious personality. With the help of Vocational
Rehabilitation and a standing wheelchair, she is now
working up front where she enjoys the interaction
with customers during her shifts.
Her Time To Shine
3
Her ultimate goal is to be a model and she’s not
intimidated by reaching for that dream with a spinal
cord injury. “I think my disability is going to be my
way to shine,” Anderson said. Like any aspiring model
she’s enamored with clothes. “I could change my
clothes 13,000 times a day if I had the money to buy
them. I love shopping and dressing up. That’s where
my creativity comes in.”
The pageant provided plenty of time in the dressing
room, from getting decked out for a roaring 20’s party
to donning biker gear for a fashion show at a Harley
Davidson dealership. Her favorite selection was
actually a tailored business suit. “I had never worn a
blazer before and felt like such a lady.”
While the activities and corresponding attire were fun,
Anderson cherishes the strong bonds created with
the other contestants during the week in Ohio. “It was
all about meeting other women in wheelchairs,” she
said. “We’re like a family now. If I post a problem on
Facebook, my ‘pageant girls’ respond to encourage me.”
The national title went to Ms. Wheelchair Georgia,
Yvette Pegues, based on her advocacy for people
with disabilities, including a book she wrote titled “My
Mommy Had Brain Surgery and I’m Okay.” “She is so
full of encouragement; it was just jumping out of her
body,” Anderson said.
Back home in South Carolina, Anderson has
shared her spinal cord injury story with two of
the association’s Breeze groups. She was also the
featured speaker at an awareness walk-and-roll event
sponsored by the Mayors of Spartanburg County
Committee for People with Disabilities. She loves
to share fond memories of a special week that that
motivated and inspired her. “I really didn’t care who
won; it was just great to be there.”
“I really didn’t care who won; it
was just great to be there.”~ Jarae Anderson
Left page, top: Jarae Anderson (right) and Ms. Wheelchair USA, Yvette Pegues (left), bottom: Jarae representing her state, Right page, top: LaQuanda Porchea (right) with Jarae at an event in Spartanburg, bottom: Jarae during the pageant festivities
South Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Association136 Stonemark Lane, Suite 100 Columbia, S.C. 29210 803-252-2198 [email protected] www.scspinalcord.org
Facebook.com/scscia @SCSpinalCord
Continued from Page 1.
PRSRT. STD.US POSTAGE
PAIDPERMIT NO. 920COLUMBIA, SC
Cagliani was equally elated. “We
get to watch their expressions,”
he said. “It’s the greatest feeling
in the world to watch someone do
something that they thought they
couldn’t do.”
New experiences during the day
also included trial and error at
the camp’s archery range. On the
playground, three adventurous
women were enticed by the
prospect of
transferring out of
their wheelchairs
into standard
swings. “We had to
try it several times
before we got the
knack of it. We fell and got back
up, but had fun in the process. We
achieved something,” Scott said.
As the group shared a sense of
achievement and a comfortable
camaraderie, Rafe Ellisor, the co-
founder of Fun4All with a C-7 injury,
reflected on his personal passion
for recreation. “My Dad instilled
in me that doing things you enjoy
leads to happiness, and there is no
room for giving up on that after a
disability. If you take everything out
of a person’s life that’s enjoyable
they are going to be sad. Through
activities like the zip line trip and
hunting and fishing, I want to be
able to provide to folks what my
Dad provided for me.”
For more information on the variety of recreational activities sponsored by Fun4All, contact fun4Allsc.org or (803) 920-9753. 4
Yanisse Scott gets ready to ascend the tower.
Brigham and Women’s Study
The Translational Pain Research Group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
in Boston, Massachusetts, is seeking individuals with pain as a result of a
spinal cord injury to participate in a research study. To qualify, volunteers
must be between the ages of 18 and 65, able to make four overnight visits
to the hospital, and have had pain for at least three months.
While the hospital is located in Boston, the study will reimburse participants
for pre-approved transportation, lodging, and some meals. Volunteers who
qualify for the study will be compensated for their time as well. For more
information, call (617) 525-7246 or email [email protected].
Recruitment ends December 31, 2014.
Youth Project
The association is looking to do extended interviews with individuals
with spinal cord injuries, between the ages of 18 and 29, to learn
how the association can be of more assistance to them. The
individuals can be manual or power wheelchair users.
Interviews will last between 60 and 90 minutes. Each person who
completes an interview will receive a $25 gift card. To qualify,
individuals must live in South Carolina, be at least one year
post-injury, and not regularly attend local Breeze group meetings.
For more information, contact Diane Epperly at
803-252-2198 or at [email protected].
Labeling equipment
In the case of an extreme emergency in which homes have to be
evacuated, people with spinal cord injuries can take one simple step to
help safeguard their wheelchairs. Labeling a wheelchair with contact
information can help reunite an individual with the chair, should a
rescuer not be able to take the chair at the same time as the person.
South C
arolina Spinal C
ord Injury Association
Checking Credit
Credit reports can have a major impact on consumers’ finances, including mortgage rates,
credit card approvals, deposit requirements for cell phones and other utilities, and even job
applications. Reviewing credit reports annually allows individuals to make sure their information
is accurate and to monitor for any fraudulent activity.
A free credit report can be obtained every 12 months from each credit bureau.
Reports can be requested at annualcreditreport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228.
Books for Loan
The association has a number of memoirs in the office that are available for loan.
Each shares an individual’s particular spinal cord injury story. Titles include:
“Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence”
By Matthew Sanford
After becoming paralyzed at the age of 13 in a car crash, Matthew Sanford struggled to
find wholeness. His journey eventually led him to yoga and a lifelong commitment to teaching
yoga to people with disabilities.
“My Last Step Backward”
By Tasha Schuh with Jan Pavloski
Tasha Schuh’s life changed at the age of 16 when she fell sixteen feet through a trap door
on a stage. The memoir chronicles her adjustment to C-5 quadriplegia and her determination
to live an independent and fulfilling life.
“Eleven Seconds: A Story of Tragedy, Courage and Triumph”
By Travis Roy with E.M. Swift
A rising hockey star, Travis Roy became a quadriplegic in an accident on the ice during
his first college game. His rehabilitation process included the establishment of the
Travis Roy Foundation, which is dedicated to research and providing adaptive equipment
to individuals with spinal cord injuries.
A complete list of memoirs and resource books available for loan can be found on the
association’s website, scspinalcord.org, under the Living Life to the Fullest tab.