By: Cheryl Angelelli Getting your driver’s license is an exciting and highly anticipated rite of passage for most teenagers. Not for me. I remember being terrified sitting behind the wheel for the first time with a driver’s education instructor. Just four years earlier, I had sustained a C6 incomplete spinal cord injury and thought… how […]
On the way to the grocery store during a camping trip in Pennsylvania, Zac Wolfe’s life changed forever when the driver of the single cab truck he was riding in overcompensated a turn causing the truck to hit an embankment and roll over. At 19 years old, he remembers going in and out of consciousness, […]
Editor’s Note: In 2016, Kevan Chandler and a group of friends took off on a backpacking trip to Europe. Chandler, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy, typically uses a wheelchair for mobility, but the group’s planned itinerary wasn’t particularly wheelchair-friendly. So instead of looking for ways to explore the destinations from his wheelchair, Chandler opted […]
Editor’s Note: When Greg Milano started volunteering for an adaptive outdoor recreation group over 20 years ago, he quickly recognized the impact the activities had on people’s lives. That volunteer position evolved into a career path for Milano when he became a manager for an adaptive sea kayaking program in San Francisco. From there, he […]
Editor’s Note: When retired flight attendant Robin Wearley received a call from her friend John Morris (the man behind WheelchairTravel.org) to discuss emergency evacuation protocol for wheelchair travelers, she realized the industry needed to seriously rethink their methods or rather, lack thereof. After Morris mentioned he’d likely have to rely on the kindness of strangers for […]
Editor’s Note: Diagnosed with spina bifida before birth, nine-year-old Charlie Krouse uses a wheelchair for mobility but has full use of his upper body. Earlier this year, Freedom Concepts teamed up with the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team, two Florida charities (Wheelchairs 4 Kids and Charlie’s Champs), and Pediatric Therapy Services to create a custom […]
Editor’s Note: Likely due to a prescription drug her mother used during pregnancy, Gianna Rojas was born with no fingers on her left hand. As a young girl in the 1970s, she became a March of Dimes poster child for the state of Florida helping raise funds for the nonprofit to support research on healthy […]
Editor’s Note: On an evening in 2003, Tim Taylor went on a pizza run with his girlfriend and her sister to pick up dinner for the family. When an oncoming vehicle came into their lane, the driver swerved to miss the other car but consequently, crashed into a tree. Tim awoke 12 days later from […]
Editor’s Note: In 2016, Moshe Gaon, a successful businessman and investor, put his other endeavors on hold to create Yoocan. Inspired by his nephew, who was born with a host of health conditions, he set out to build a global platform for people to share their stories of living with a disability. Three years later, […]
Editor’s Note: When Hydred Makabali became paralyzed at the age of 18 due to a spinal cord injury, early adulthood proved drastically different than she had ever imagined. But after battling depression and moving out on her own, she began to develop critical life skills as she faced complete autonomy for the first time. With […]
