As we enter a new year, I hope you have taken the time to reflect on what you have. If you have been reading my column, you will notice a common thread to my message: that thread is responsibility.
Specifically
• Responsibility to yourself
• Responsibility to your friends and loved ones
• Responsibility to your community
• […]

Starting with this issue, Action will replace Orbit, which we were publishing since we became United Spinal Association. Those of you who have been around for a while know we are returning to the name we used for many years for our monthly publication.
As we get ready to celebrate our 60th year, it is […]

Before there was Orbit, there was Action. If you’ve been a member of this association for longer than two years, you knew that. But you may be surprised to see that name adorning this magazine again.
To celebrate our 60th year, we wanted to pay homage to our past, even as we move ahead, and […]

SOCIAL SERVICES: Peering into the Future in Seattle
On November 19, Social Services Director Jerome Kleckley ventured to Seattle to attend a training course offered by the Amputee Coalition of America to learn about their National Peer Network. United Spinal Association seeks to establish a “pilot” peer support program soon, according to Kleckley, but our organization […]

Veterans’ Service Organizations Dismayed by House VA Chairman Steven Buyer’s Proposal
For the past 55 years veterans’ service organizations (VSOs), including United Spinal Association, have been provided the opportunity to testify before a joint session of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees. Specifically, the VSOs testified on Congress’ proposed budget for VA health care […]

A look back to how we started reminds us that work continues on many of the same issues that inspired our formation.
By Terry Moakley
The first written record we have of our birth is dated May 22, 1946. It is the minutes of a meeting of an unknown number of World War II veterans […]

By Marlene L. Perkins
Independence. Equality. Opportunity. Access. These words are the cornerstone of what United Spinal Association represents as an organization and more importantly what our Membership represents to the world. Across the country, with individuals from various communities and cultures, of different ages, genders and backgrounds, you, our members, are what make this […]

The history of United Spinal, as told by the cover of a magazine.
By Chris Pierson
For most of this organization’s 60 years, the newsletter that members received each month to keep them abreast of their association’s current events came by the humble name Monthly Report. The very first newsletter, delivered to members in May […]

By Charlotte Bethune-Fisher
In the last two months, we have looked at issues involved in traveling with spinal cord injury (SCI) by land and by air. This month, we look at travel by sea.
Cruises have become a popular way to vacation, and especially, as liners become more and more accessible, for people with […]

Obesity comes with a host of health issues, including increased risk for diabetes and heart disease, that may be deadly for people with SCI.
By Lori A. Wood
The battle of the bulge is tough enough for an ambulatory person to struggle with, but for those with spinal cord impairment (SCI), it can be much […]

By Wendy Crawford
Staying warm in the winter isn’t easy for anyone. When you are in a wheelchair, staying warm in the winter can be next to impossible! Don’t despair and hibernate, however, for the entire season. Below you will find ideas to keep you both toasty and extremely fashionable.

By Tamar Asedo Sherman
My first time was embarrassing. Just like you, I felt extremely self-conscious. I thought everyone was staring at me and must have thought I didn’t know what I was doing. But I really had no choice.
After 20 years with multiple sclerosis, I knew my new job was more demanding than […]

By John M. Williams
I can’t remember (or maybe I can’t count that high) the number of times people have asked me this question in the last 25 years: What do I need to know when I am buying an assistive technology (AT) product for myself? The answer requires knowing the technological challenges related to […]

By Lori A. Wood

“The development of the Up ’N Go began about four years ago, and the device has been on the market for approximately three years,” says Walt Von Seggern, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing of Easy Walking, Inc., (www.easy-walking.com), an assistive mobility product company in Maple Glen, Pennsylvania. “The device was conceptualized […]

By Beth Livingston
In 1989, I had arrived. I had recently completed my undergraduate studies at Parsons School of Design in New York City and had moved across the country to start a new adventure. My husband George and I were married 3 years earlier. We were committed to living in the Rocky Mountains, and […]

by Kathleen M. Muldoon

I’m going to tell you something that I’ve never told anyone before. Can you keep a secret? All right, here goes: I almost dropped out of sixth grade. It’s true. Before, I’d felt comfortable in fifth grade. Most days, other than recess and lunch, I spent in the same classroom […]

by Kayla Krasner Hannigan

Kayla (right) with her mom Jackie and dad Billy.
Four years ago, my mom met this guy in a wheelchair named Billy. I did not like him at all. It wasn’t because he was in a wheelchair; it was because he was getting too close to my mom. But as […]

by Tom Scott

The 2006 United Spinal Liberty Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team
United Spinal Association, the fastest growing spinal cord injury and disease (SCI/D) organization in the country, is proud to announce the creation of one of the first women’s wheelchair basketball teams sponsored by a professional franchise in New York. The team, co-sponsored by United Spinal […]