If you’ve been following Wheel:Life for a while, you’ve probably noticed we’ve featured several stories with our partner Yoocan throughout 2019. As we enter into a new year, we wanted to remind our readers of the power of storytelling. When we share our struggles, victories, dreams, and accomplishments, we may be opening someone else’s world […]
In 2003, Jeff Butler was on his way home from his middle school football game when the car he was riding in was t-boned. The accident resulted in a broken neck at C5-6 for the 13-year-old and several months at various rehabilitation facilities across the United States. Thanks to a family friend, Butler discovered wheelchair […]
Editor’s Note: In 2012, the Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University partnered with LightHouse for the Blind and took over Superfest, the longest-running disability film festival in the world. As the associate director at Longmore, Emily Smith Beitiks had the opportunity to take on the producer role for the 2013 festival and […]
Wheel:Life has mentioned how incredible Yoocan is a few times now, so if you haven’t yet checked out the global collaborative community for and by people with disabilities, now is the time. Why should you join thousands of others in telling your story? Because sharing your struggles, adventures, accomplishments, frustrations, and passions can make the […]
February is a short month, but that doesn’t mean there’s no time for educational activities, fundraising, and fun! If you’re looking for ways to get involved in celebrating and supporting the disability community this month, consider one of these five events. 1) Annual African American Conference on Disabilities February 15, 2019 • Phoenix, AZ For the […]
Back in 2017, Wheel:Life featured a story on Yoocan and Alto. For those of you who missed it, Yoocan is a unique, collaborative online community for people with disabilities to connect, share personal stories, and empower each other. Alto was a membership club providing discounts on products and services for the disability community. The two […]
Editor’s Note: When Franklin Elieh and Nick Struthers, both living with spinal cord injury, met while doing volunteer peer support work at a hospital in northern California, they discovered there was a major gap in service for newly discharged SCI patients. Panic and anxiety was a common reaction when families realized they would soon be […]
As each year comes to a close, we like to look back and reflect on the people we met, the journeys we went on, and the lessons we learned. In 2018, we talked to adventure travelers, authors, filmmakers, techies, physical therapists, fitness gurus, entrepreneurs, and more. We learned so much from each and every person […]
Editor’s Note: As an infant, Zully JF Alvarado contracted polio, but at the time, the villagers in her home country of Ecuador didn’t have the resources or knowledge to properly diagnose her condition. When a priest on a mission trip took interest in her, her parents allowed him to take her to the United States […]
Editor’s Note: While Pauline Victoria’s parents were preparing for their first child to arrive, prenatal visits showed no signs of abnormality. So when doctors discovered the infant had no arms and only one partially formed leg upon birth, it was a surprise to all. As was typically the case at the time, the hospital strongly […]
