No one can deny that living with a disability renders daily living more difficult to varying degrees. Navigating through an able-bodied world in a wheelchair can be physically exhausting and emotionally draining. Ostomates almost always have to plan ahead or use spontaneous problem-solving skills. While society often projects its ideas of what it means to be […]

Editor’s Note:  Over three decades ago, Michigander Shelly Loose swerved in her car to avoid hitting a deer and broke her neck. After several months of rehabilitation in the hospital, she was released and returned home as a wheelchair user. In 2007, she discovered the Ms. Wheelchair America competition and went on to become the […]

Editor’s Note:  Sheri Melander-Smith was born with a vascular malformation on her spine resulting in her legs growing at different rates. Despite her doctors not knowing the cause at the time, she underwent surgery at the age of six to stunt the growth of the longer limb. As one leg caught up with the other […]

Editor’s Note: Born with spina bifida, Kim Brown has been a full-time wheelchair user since the 5th grade. After earning two master's degrees and a successful career teaching in Chicago Public Schools for nearly two decades, opportunity knocked in 2012 when she was named Ms. Wheelchair Illinois. During her reign, she was invited to speak […]