This month, as we celebrate Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, we have another reason to say thank you.

Since our organization’s founding, adaptive sports have played an important role in bringing our members together. It was clear from the start that practicing a sport resulted in improved overall health as well as enhanced self-image, which is extremely valuable in overcoming the challenges that spinal cord dysfunction can present.

by Chris Pierson

Mary Ann Peters (center), the widow of James J. Peters, listens to a speaker during the ceremony marking the renaming of the Bronx VA Medical Center in her late husband’s honor. (Photo by Emile Wamsteker)
“Today, we take the final step in honoring the legacy of Jim Peters, a man of tremendous achievements, […]

by Terry Moakley

James J. Peters
I met Jim Peters way back in 1968 at the old Bronx VA Hospital. I was there for rehab and Jim was back in to heal a pressure sore he developed from sitting for too many hours in his wheelchair. Both of us in our twenties and a bit […]

by John M. Williams

Before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast states, hundreds of thousands of individuals with disabilities fearfully awaited what they knew was a life-changing catastrophe. Poor, isolated, and lacking transportation and communications to help them escape, they feared for the worst, and received a blow worse than they expected.
“I lost everything,” […]

by Rob Ingraham

Dominic Marinelli (standing center), United Spinal’s director of Accessibility Services, talks to a Yankees fan about accessibility features he’d like to see in the new Yankees’ stadium, scehduled to open in time for the 2009 season.
NY Yankees Select United Spinal to Oversee Accessibility Compliance at New Stadium
Despite the many player records […]

by Rob Ingraham
Mediation has failed to resolve a long-standing suit against the District of Columbia by United Spinal Association and the Disability Rights Council of Greater Washington charging that DC’s parking regulations discriminate against individuals with disabilities (See Orbit, May ’04 and September ’05).

by Diana H. Rintala, PhD; Susan Robinson-Whelen, PhD; and Rebeca Matamoros, BS

A study suggests being a veteran with SCI is more stressful than being a nonveteran with SCI.
Psychological stress has long been known to affect psychological and physical well-being. While some research studies have examined major life events (divorce, death of a loved […]

by Charlotte Bethune-Fisher
This is the first in a series of articles that will give you tips on how to arrange a successful voyage.
Traveling arrangements are generally a straightforward process for able-bodied individuals. Most people contact a travel agency, choose a destination, and hope that their baggage and the sun follow them.
For the […]

by Martin Young
Note: To introduce our new Travelogues column, we present an excerpt from a piece by United Spinal Board member Martin Young about a trip to China that he took in November 1997.

Board member Martin Young (right) was as interesting to this 82-year-old monk in Shanghai’s Jing’An Temple as the temple and […]

by Chris Pierson
Karen Law, a Senior Analyst for Prudential Financial, Inc., in Iselin, NJ, won a $1,000 Prudential CARES Volunteers Grants Award for United Spinal Association in recognition of her volunteer work for the organization beginning in the Fall of 2003. United Spinal received the grant on June 30.

by Lori A. Wood

Chad Waligura has a mission to get people with spinal cord injury (SCI) back into the woods.
You might think the outdoors is no place for a person with a mobility impairment, unless you stick to the paven path. Chad Waligura would strongly disagree with you.
Chad was named the 2003 Challenged Hunter […]

by Jennifer M. Rodriguez

Marjorie Regan (left) is joined on the United Spinal Board this year by Michelle Leahy (right) and Patricia Miller (not in photo). Admiring this artwork at Bulova Corporate Center, where United Spinal’s Executive Office is located, Leahy remarked, “I like this woman. It took a lot of temerity to put this […]

by Kris Ann Piazza
As a woman living with a cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) for the past 25 years, I’m finding the age of 37 to be personally fulfilling and professionally satisfying. I love being a woman, but God knows, it was not easy becoming one!
The evolution from girlhood to womanhood is never easy, […]

by William J. Peace

Since my son entered the New York public school system, I have repeatedly encountered problems solely because I am a person with a disability. The school he attends complies with the local, state, and federal accessibility laws as administrators interpret them, but it does so with great resistance, if not animosity.
Does […]

by Kathleen M. Muldoon
When I was in sixth grade, my first homework for language arts was to write my autobiography—the story of my life so far. The teacher gave us a week to complete the assignment, but I didn’t start mine until the Sunday night before they were due. By the time I’d finished, […]

by Tom Scott

Bank Division Top honors went to angler Stefan Bozydaj of Highland, NY. Stefan’s 2.5 lb smallmouth bass earned him both 1st Place and Lunker awards.

Bass Fishing Tournament

On September 17, 2005, eight United Spinal members participated in the New England Paralyzed Veterans Association (NEPVA) bass fishing tournament on Lake Winnipesaukee in […]

“Nature’s Course: Harvesting Adult Stem Cells for Therapy” (Orbit, May 2005) presents an excellent account of Lisbon pathologist Dr. Carlos Lima’s groundbreaking ‘Olfactory Mucosa’ (OM) transplantation for chronic, severe spinal cord injury (SCI). I offer the following clarification regarding this surgery’s importance—the benefits it offers, the hurdles it aims to overcome, and future needs of […]