Being paralyzed and totally dependent on others gave Dr. Brad Berk lots of time to think.

As chief executive of University of Rochester Medical Center, he’d led efforts to improve patient care. But rehabilitating from a bicycle accident that injured his spinal cord showed him clearly that healing is about more than science-based treatments. To put your trust in caregivers, you need a caring connection and clear communication. Continue Reading »

Debenhams today became the first High Street retailer to use a disabled model in its advertising campaigns.

Shannon Murray, who is confined to a wheelchair, took part in a photo shoot for the department store last week.

The actress and model, 32, revealed the news on her blog: ‘I’ve been modelling for over 14 years but this was different,’ she wrote.

‘It is a first and as I was getting ready in hair and make-up, the potential of this shoot suddenly struck me – another small step towards inclusion and representation.

‘I hope the images challenge a few misconceptions about disability; it’s been a long time coming.’ Continue Reading »

Madonna’s Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Program holds a belief that regardless of the level of injury Continue Reading »

Medical science has come a long way since the days of Hippocrates. The discovery of wonder drugs called antibiotics, the formulation of anaesthesia that revolutionised surgery, the discovery of monoclonal antibodies to treat various diseases etc, are medical milestones that have paved the road to modern medicine that exists today.

Along with technological advancement, medical science also continues to advance. The latest discovery having the potential of becoming the elixirs of life is the small microscopic cluster of cells, also called ‘stem cells’. Once just a small inclusion in cryptic health journals, these microscopic cells are now making headlines with not just the medical fraternity, but also with the political diaspora, who are debating on the moral principles of stem cell research. Continue Reading »

Researchers at UTHealth have demonstrated in rats that transplanting genetically modified adult stem cells into an injured spinal cord can help restore the electrical pathways associated with movement. The results are published in the Feb. 24 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

In spinal cord injury, demyelination, or the destruction of the myelin sheath in the central nervous system, occurs. The myelin sheath, produced by cells called oligodendrocytes, wraps around the axons of nerves and helps speed activity and insulate electrical conduction. Without it, the nerves cannot send messages to make muscles move. Continue Reading »

With Team Reeve All Stars, you can be a part of our Team through just about any athletic endeavor Continue Reading »

This is the latest from Dr. Dan:

I was developing a cold last month and I went to the CVS to pick up some cough drops. No big thing. Well, for a C5/6 quadriplegic it is a big thing. It’s such a big thing that when I put the bag with the cough drops in my van, I felt a little drop of joy, of pride. And I thought “who else in the world would feel this kind of joy after buying a bag of cough drops?” Continue Reading »

Richard Perrin was thrown off a motorcycle at 160 km/h. ‘I came out on thewrong side of the risk-reward equation,’ he says of the accident that left him paralyzed from the ribcage down. ‘I knew the risks. … I wasn’t asking, Why me?’.

Richard Perrin’s obsession was ignited one decade ago by a television commercial that pictured a gleaming motorcycle power-sliding across the desert sand. “Only one custom motorcycle in the world can cruise like this,” the narrator intoned, “the Valkyrie from Honda.” Continue Reading »

DENVER – Luke Vogel was angry. There is no other way to say it. He had heard people talk about quadriplegics before the accident, but now it was personal.

There he was, sitting in that new wheelchair, wondering what was going to happen to him as he approached the rest of his life.

He was only 16.

Two years later, the anger has faded. Continue Reading »

Local physical therapist pairs former patients with new patients to help newly disabled people learn how to cope

Jesse Gifford knows all too well how Matt Thomas feels these days.

Thomas has been confined to a wheelchair since July, when a mountain bike accident left him paralyzed. Gifford suffered a similar paralyzing injury almost 13 years ago after a diving accident. Continue Reading »