#paralysis
Kitten paralyzed by botched microchip insertion might walk again
The kitten had to be microchipped as part of the adoption process. But soon her rescuer noticed something had gone horribly wrong.The kitten started acting lethargic, couldn’t walk properly and dragging his entire left side. She thought it was odd since it happened right after the placement of the microchip.
Full story via Kitty Army
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My YouTube upload from last week. I’m both a wheelchair user and I receive all essential nutrition via a feeding tube that runs into my intestines. This doesn’t mean I can’t still enjoy the normal pleasures of life, sometimes it just means adaptations, and smaller amounts of said pleasures than is considered ‘normal’.
A breakthrough neuromodulation system rapidly restores motor function in patients with a severe spinal cord injury (SCI), new research shows.
The study demonstrated that an epidural electrical stimulation (EES) system developed specifically for spinal cord injuries enabled three men with complete paralysis to stand, walk, cycle, swim, and move their torso within 1 day.
SCIs involve severed connections between the brain and extremities. To compensate for these lost connections, researchers have investigated stem cell therapy, brain-machine interfaces, and powered exoskeletons.
However, these approaches aren’t yet ready for prime time.
Clara Pereira is a stunning, 18 year old, model and blogger from Garanhuns, a city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.
Clara was born with spina bifida myelomeningocele. This is a spinal malformation which damages the spinal cord in varying degrees of severity. Because Clara’s spinal cord was completely severed, she never had any feeling in her legs and has been completely paralyzed from the waist down her entire life. As the muscles in her legs didn’t develop properly, she also has some very slight deformities in her feet. Luckily, Clara’s upper body wasn’t affected at all and she never had any serious health issues.
Clara states she really doesn’t mind being in a wheelchair. She always strives to live life to the fullest and emphasizes that even if she had the choice, she wouldn’t want to live her life in any other way.
Next to her studies, Clara is often surrounded by friends with whom she loves to go shopping, check out movies at the cinema or have a day out at an amusement park. Besides that, she can often be found at the beach and loves to swim.
Clara has always been very interested in fashion and was never shy about having her picture taken. Inspired by models on social media and encouraged by her friends and parents, she now regularly poses in photo shoots!
Clara has her own Instagram page where she gives a cool insight in her life and where you can also see some of her work!
Clara Pereira (@clarapeereira) • Instagram photos and videos
Josie Aslakson is a 25 year old paralympic wheelchair basketball player for Team USA.
Josie was born in Edina, a small city in the state of Minnesota. While born able-bodied, she sustained a complete spinal cord injury in a car accident at the age of 5. Despite receiving excellent hospital care, this meant she would be completely paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her life and that she would never have any feeling in her legs again.
Fortunately, the accident didn’t cause any other medical issues and Josie grew up in excellent health. Obviously, growing up as a wheelchair user comes with some challenges from time to time, but while however she sometimes felt sorry that she couldn’t participate in everything her friends and classmates did, Josie always stood out with her extremely positive attitude!
At the age of 13, Josie was practicing at one of her archery lessons, and the basketball coach(who was training at the same time) pushed her to try basketball. The coach immediately spotted that Josie had quite some talent and encouraged her to give it a go.
In the beginning Josie played together with the ‘regular’ basketball team of Jordan High School, which she attended and contrary to what you might expect, she matched the level of her teammates very well and even turned out as one of the top players of the team!
After high school, Josie switched to the womens wheelchair basketball team of the the University of Texas at Arlington, the Lady Movin’ Mavs. This is where her talent fully blossomed and in 2014, she was selected for the World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Incheon, South Korea where she and her teammates finished second(after Australia). In 2018, she then played for Team USA in the World Championships in Hamburg, Germany, where she finished 6’th.
Now, Josie is preparing for her first ever Paralympic Games, which will start in a couple of weeks in Tokyo, Japan! Good luck Josie
If you’re interested, you can check out Josie’s Instagram page. I can also really recommend the great interview Josie recently had with Palms to Pines Parasports⬇️
Good luck to Josie and Team USA!
Geovana Luiza is a stunning 21 year old model, blogger and vlogger from Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.
Geovana was born with spina bifida myelomeningocele. This is a congenital condition in which there grows a malformation in the spine during pregnancy causing damage to the spinal cord. In Geovana’s case, her spinal cord was completely severed and she was diagnosed with a complete spinal cord injury. Because of this, she has been paralysed from her waist down for all her life and never had any feeling in her lower limbs. She also has a serious degree of both scoliosis and kyphosis(an unnatural sideways and front-to-back curvature of the spine).
Besides this, she also has a condition called hydrocephalus, meaning that there was an abnormal buildup of fluid in her brain. This could luckily be solved by the placing of a tube that drains the excess amount of liquid(also known as a shunt).
Because of the excellent treatment she received in the hospital, Geovana grew up in perfect health. Nonetheless, she often noticed she was looked at in a different way because of her wheelchair. For example, people often think she needs help with practically anything and there have even been cases where she was approached as if she was mentally disabled because of her wheelchair!
These prejudices couldn’t be further from the truth though. Of course, changing a lightbulb would be very difficult for her, but outside these kind of things, she lives completely independent from others and does everything by herself.
To get rid of these kinds of prejudices and to educate people about the life of people with disabilities, Geovana started a YouTube channel where she talks about her life as a wheelchair user. If you’re interested, just check out the link down here ⬇️
Also, feel free to follow Geovana on Instagram or to visit her Facebook page by clicking the link down below ⬇️
Junior França is an amazing 25 year old paralympic weightlifter from Brazil. Junior was born and raised in the city of Natal, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte.
Junior has been a wheelchair user for all his life because of Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita(AMC). This is a congenital condition which causes joint contractures, stiffness and muscle weakness in some or all of one’s limbs. Fortunately, only Junior’s lower limbs were affected, albeit in a very serious way. Junior has never been able to use his legs in any way and because his knees and ankles have always stood in a completely fixed position, he has some slight deformations in both his legs. Moreover, his leg muscles eventually completely wasted away and the bones in his legs became severely weakened, a condition also known as muscular atrophy.
As Natal has always been poorly accessible, Junior’s youth often had its challenges. Public transportation wasn’t adjusted for wheelchair users, sidewalks were often tough to navigate and buildings only seldom were equipped with elevators. Frustrating as it sometimes was, the tough streets Junior conquered with his wheelchair and the stairs he regularly had to climb with only the use of his arms made his upper body unbelievably strong!
Junior started weightlifting at the age of 18 after being encouraged by a good friend and after only two years, he already represented Brazil in the Paralympic Games of 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Now, his goal is set for getting some great results at the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, for which he has recently been selected!
Besides his athletic aspirations, Junior graduated from a degree in law school two years ago and last year, the love of his life and fellow paralympian Maria Clementino gave birth to a beautiful son!
If you’d like, you can follow Junior on Instagram or you can visit his official Facebook page by clicking the link down below!
Shannon Kelly is a 27 year old journalist, writer and travel blogger who wrote lots of articles and stories about her trips around the world!
When Shannon was just 2 years old, she was diagnosed with a spinal tumor. Fortunately, the tumor could be completely removed. Nevertheless, her spinal cord was damaged in such extent that it left her completely paralyzed from her waist down.
Ever since Shannon was young, she had an adventurous spirit, a passion for nature and a huge love for animals. After graduating from high school, Shannon wanted to get out of her comfort zone and travel abroad before starting college; “I was 17, in a wheelchair, and a newbie to international travel, but I didn’t want to let any of these things stop me from having the adventure of a lifetime”, She says about the beginning of her very first trip to Costa Rica. This turned out to be such a success that she has made many more since then! If you’d like to know more about all of Shannon’s travels, I can really recommend you to read the story she wrote for HuffPost! ⬇️
My Perspective on Inclusive Study Abroad
Shannon soon felt that all the great experiences she had during her travels were worth sharing with the rest of the world. That’s why she started writing a blog, and it didn’t take long before some of her stories were published in various newspapers and magazines!
Many of Shannon’s articles are about her own experiences as a traveler in a wheelchair, which are packed with useful tips and tricks for people with disabilities! Nonetheless, she also wrote some great stuff for the ‘general’ traveler like sightseeing ideas and 'things to do’. If you’re interested in reading some of Shannon’s work, you can visit her website, where you’ll find a portfolio with references to everything she wrote! ⬇️
Danny Higgins is a great, 27 year old wheelchair basketball player, boxer and gym instructor from the English city of Leicester.
Danny was born with Sacral Agenesis, also known as Caudal Regression Syndrome. This is a congenital condition in which the lowest portion of the spine(the sacrum) fails to develop during pregnancy. Because of this, Danny has been paralyzed from his waist down for all his life. Besides that, his legs are slightly malformed and a bit shorter than normal.
As he grew up, Danny always had a very active lifestyle and a huge interest in all kinds of sports. During his time in primary school, he decided to join the Leicester Cobra’s, the wheelchair basketball team in his hometown. In no time, he managed to master the sport and he soon turned out to be of great value for his team.
Besides basketball, Danny was also attracted to a more uncommon sport for someone with a disability; boxing…
After doing some research, Danny came into contact with the Adaptive Boxing Organization(ABO) and decided to give it a try. He soon turned out to be an excellent fighter and won an impressive amount of medals and trophies! If you’d like to know more about about wheelchair boxing, you should absolutely check out this great article from Vice News about the sport. Also you can re-watch several of Danny’s fights on YouTube
In September last year, Danny decided to put boxing on the back burner for a while as he was offered a contract with the Megas Alexandros wheelchair basketball team in Thessaloniki, Greece.
In September last year, Danny was offered a contract with the Megas Alexandros wheelchair basketball team in Thessaloniki, Greece. Although this ment that he had to put boxing on the back burner for a while, he couldn’t let this great opportunity pass!Unfortunately, after the coronavirus situation worsened again, Danny hasn’t been able to play for months on end now. Let’s hope he can soon get back in action
If you’d like to follow Danny on Instagram, you can do so by clicking the link right here!
Ingrid Nogueira is a stunning, 26 year old singer, composer and model from Foz do Jutaí, a small town in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
Ingrid has been a wheelchair user for all her life because of Congenital Muscular Dystrophy(CMD). In Ingrid’s case, the condition left the muscles around her pelvis without any strength or function. As a result of this, she has never been able to walk, stand, or sit upright independently. She also has a serious deformity in her spine because her pelvis could never support the weight of her upper body.
Every once in a while, Ingrid’s condition surely comes with some challenges, but Ingrid has an exceptionally positive attitude so she isn’t really bothered by these issues. She does admit though that she has been very lucky that her condition isn’t in it’s progressive state anymore and that her upper her body isn’t affected at all. This allows her to live completely independent of others. She is also very happy that she can use a manual wheelchair, which is something she really likes because it accentuates her independency and makes it a lot easier for her to travel as it is much smaller and lighter than an electric wheelchair.
Ingrid has always been a very outgoing person and a good student who has lots of hobbies. She’s very passionate about music, is a gifted guitar player and a beautiful singer. Besides that, she loves fashion, photography and regularly works as a model. In her spare time, she loves spending time with friends and family, visit concerts and going to the beach.
If you’d like, you can check out Ingrid’s Instagram page right here or you can follow her on Facebook by clicking on the link down below!
We love the Olympics not only for the amazing feats of athleticism on display but also for the personal triumphs over adversity that bring the athletes to the games. Wilma Rudolph is a legend for both. At just age 16, she won a bronze medal in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and then took home 3 golds four years later in Rome. But even to compete at all was a victory for Rudolph. A sickly child, she survived premature birth, whooping cough, chicken pox, scarlet fever, measles, and infantile paralysis caused by the polio virus. Who knew this girl with a brace on her twisted leg would become the fastest woman in the world and an international star?
Tell your friend she’s got a little Wilma Rudolph in her. Reblog now to give her a little push.
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Your character has to re-learn to walk following a terrible accident. The recovery is slow and frustrating, but the second they’re able to put one foot in front of the other, the caretaker beams with pride.
Young The Giant - Paralysis (In The Open)
Fascinating interview with Olympic sprint cycling champion Kristina Vogel in Der Spiegel who was left paralysed after a training accident…amazing human spirit.
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Black History Month 2017: Johnnie Lacy, Defiantly Black & Disabled
Image of Johnnie shown smiling directly into the camera. She is sitting in her wheelchair wearing a buttoned shirt, with an office desk to her left.
In continuing with my Black History Month focus on Black disabled leaders, I am proudly sharing the story of Johnnie Lacy, a woman who directed the Community Resources for Independent Living (CRIL) in Hayward, California for over a decade. The…
