Life flat out: How to live well when you can’t get up - by Charlie Park
When I tell people that I’m disabled, often they look me up and down in search of disability. The best way for me to show off my disability is to drop to the floor and flop about like a fish out of water. That would take too much energy. Instead, I explain, “I have an Energy Impairment. I have multiple incurable diseases that severely limit my energy and make my body intolerant to exertion. I spend most of my day in bed. I can do one short activity each afternoon.”
Not every day is a good day but that’s ok – by Kylee Black
Not every day is a “good day”, but it also doesn’t necessarily make it a “bad one” either. What IS important, is how I handle myself on those days. There is a lot that I can’t control in life, it’s true, but there is a lot I still can control. How I chose to see a situation can make a huge difference, to my mental, physical and emotional well-being.
My first holiday with my new Küschall KSL wheelchair – by Adam Sheppard
Some of us like sitting on a beach somewhere staring into the deep blue, whilst others prefer a more adrenalin-filled holiday, maybe skydiving or scaling the side of a mountain is more your thing but I am pretty sure I can confidently say that there wouldn’t be a person reading this now who doesn’t enjoy a good holiday.
Having dual disabilities and using a chair – by Tyrone Cook
June 27th is the birthday of a lady who made life for people like me, better. Of course, I am talking about Helen Keller, a person born hearing and seeing until, at the age of two she developed an illness that would cause her to be profoundly deafblind.
Because of this, every year on the week of her birthday, is International Deafblind awareness week and what better time to talk about being a chair user, with a dual disability?
The Road to Paris 2024 - by Susan Seipel
I have represented Australia in the sport of Paracanoe at two Paralympic Games and achieved a bronze medal in Rio 2016 and a silver medal in Tokyo 2020. My current goal is to compete at the next Paralympic Games in Paris 2024 (August 28th to September 8th).
Journey to a Wheelchair 2 - A Day at the Zoo - By Ferris Knight
My nephew is at that adorable age where we can take him out on adventures. I hadn’t been able to participate up to now though, as my latest direction from my doctors was that I could walk seven minutes in a row, twice a day. That made it difficult to do much of anything really.
Mid-year goals – by Alicia Kapa
It’s June already, the year is flying by! Most people set New Year’s resolutions but others live day to day, going wherever life takes them. For me, I’m the latter but that does not mean I don’t have goals and aspirations in life. Over the last 6 months, life has given me a few challenges but the one thing I didn’t lose throughout my trials is the willingness to achieve my goals.
Navigating public transport and getting around in your community on a wheelchair – by Lindsay Nott
Can we still get around? Yes, we can! Thanks to the inclusion of accessibility for public transport, improvements and new facilities rolling out across networks.
There are a multitude of options for people to use. Yes, you need to live close to a station, and or a bus stop. If you have the pleasure of being located close by, you can use bus, train, ferry, light rail/tram and taxis.
Taking action on burdensome muscle spasms - by Ian Walker
Hey everybody!
For a fair portion of wheelchair users due to sustaining a spinal cord injury (SCI), especially the 67% or so whose SCI is determined ‘incomplete’, muscle spasms are a constant. The only things that are not are the severity, the consistency, and the painfulness of said spasms. So, what causes these spasms?
What’s in a word? – by Marlena Katene
We have all heard the saying: “Sticks and stones may break our bones but words may never hurt us”, but I think that saying is a little outdated.
As a woman with a disability, I am resilient and can handle a little political incorrectness when it comes to words but words truly can hurt. While I care more about the person’s attitude behind the words there are still many times I don’t know how to respond when people throw some words around.
Here are just a few words thrown around the disability community and my thoughts on them: