As you probably know, January marks our one-year anniversary as United Spinal Association. From all perspectives, it has been a great first year. Our membership grew by leaps and bounds, giving us the opportunity to serve an even greater number of people with spinal cord injury (SCI). We are still testing the waters with our donors but, by and large, they are supportive of our desire to use our 57 years of experience, knowledge, and expertise to help all Americans with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D). I do want to reassure our veteran members that, as United Spinal Association, we remain [...]
|
||||
 |
by Lori A. Wood Writer, editor, wheelchair acrobat, public speaker, and juggler . . . Gary Karp wants to challenge the world’s view of disability as damage. In July 1973, when he was 18, Gary Karp fell 25 feet out of a tree he was trying to clear after a storm in his hometown of Southfield, Michigan. He spent six weeks in Providence General Hospital, close to home. “I had a laminectomy to remove broken bone from compressing the spinal cord, and a spinal fusion to rebuild the spine,” he says. “I was lucky during the next six weeks of [...] by Sara Lerman, MPH In the last few months, the controversy over stem cell research has been brought into the spotlight by the presidential campaign and by the passing of Christopher Reeve, a leading advocate for increased funding of stem cell research. Most medical scientists say that stem cell research and therapy hold promise for treatment, and possibly the cure, of a wide range of diseases that affect millions of people. This is a controversial subject, however, that raises ethical, religious, and legal questions. Stem cell research explores the fundamental and basic mechanisms of the cell and how tissues develop, specialize, and [...] por MarÃa A. Reyes-Velarde, MD, MPH-AM Hace cinco años, después de haber sido dada una diagnosis de probable esclerosis múltiple (EM), comencé a buscar información sobre la enfermedad en Español. Como doctora, estaba acostumbrada a la lectura en Inglés sobre la patologÃa, el diagnóstico diferencial, los tratamientos disponibles y los resultados posibles, pero buscaba algo más simple. Buscaba realmente algo en español que mi mama podrÃa leer y entender de modo que ella no se asustara. Buscaba las respuestas a las preguntas comunes de cada dÃa a los cuales nos enfrentamos cuando tenemos EM, preguntas como: ¿Por qué yo? ¿Qué hago ahora? [...] by John M. Williams Since the 2004 Election on November 2, a debate in the disability community has focused on this question: Did more people with disabilities vote for President George W. Bush than for Senator John Kerry? If you ask different people you will get different answers. Advocates for people with disabilities tell me the President’s support declined among their demographic. Among the scores of voters I spoke to since the election, all of them say they voted for John Kerry. Harry Thomas, 33, who is visually impaired and lives in New York City, said, “I can’t believe that Bush [...] by Dominic Marinelli United Spinal Association has updated a pamphlet that provides important fire safety information for persons with disabilities. Fire Safety for Wheelchair Users at Work and at Home was distributed to fire marshals from around the United States during their annual Prevention Advocacy Resources and Data Exchange (PARADE) conference held at the National Fire Training Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland on November 6, 2004. In addition to discussing the brochure with the fire marshals who attended the four 90minute sessions, we reviewed the latest life safety requirements designed to assist people with disabilities safely evacuate buildings, including the installation of visible [...] by Terry Moakley The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the parent organization of New York City Transit (NYCT), has published a new map of the NYCT subway system entitled “The Subway Map for Customers with Disabilities.” It can be ordered at no charge via United Spinal’s publications request line, 800-444-0120, or online at www.unitedspinal.org. What makes “The Subway Map for Customers with Disabilities” unique is that both its design and content are geared to enable people with diverse disabilities to travel around New York City more easily. For example, a much larger type size is used compared to NYCT’s [...] by Kate Hooks “The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday activities, such as buying an item at the store, going to the movies, enjoying a meal at a local restaurant, exercising at the health club, or having the car serviced at a local garage.” I read these words and wonder why, if the ADA has been effective since 1992, things are still so inaccessible? I’ve had multiple sclerosis (MS) now for seven years, and I still can’t [...] by Lori A. Wood This is Part II of a two-part series on the ethics of euthanasia. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of United Spinal or its employees. This article, as well as last month’s article on Princeton philosophy professor Peter Singer, is intended to provoke thought and discussion. We welcome your response to this series. Please send written responses—no phone calls, please—to United Spinal Orbit, 75-20 Astoria Boulevard, Jackson Heights, NY 11370-1199, or send it by e-mail to orbit@unitedspinal.org. In 1993, Canadian [...] |
   |
||
|
Copyright © 2010 United Spinal’s Action Online Magazine - All Rights Reserved |
||||
