Love and Marriage

Joan Rhodes and Bill Lee have fun at the beach in the early
1950s. After a life apart, the United Spinal members found
each other again and rekindled their romance.

Misc.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: Positive Vibrations

DIRECTOR’S NOTES: Legislative Picture

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Tweaks and Tinkerings

PROGRAM NOTES: February 2007
Philadelphia Airport Business Opportunities & Diversity
Vets with Disabilities Wanted to […]

When I travel around the country and talk to newly injured individuals, some of the questions I’m asked most often concern relationships.
I recently met a young man who had fallen off a roof and now uses a wheelchair. He said how difficult it was to meet someone to go out with. I explained how […]

Our offices are buzzing over the potential of our new Congress and we’re hopeful that Democrats and Republicans will come together to push for legislation benefiting our members and all Americans with disabilities.

Love and Marriage are not what people think of right away when the subject of spinal cord disorder (SCD) arises, but eventually they do find their way into consciousness, given the popular misconception that SCD means the end of sex. This is bluntly demonstrated in the 2005 documentary Murderball (whose star Mark Zupan is interviewed […]

Philadelphia Airport Business Opportunities & Diversity
If you own or operate a business and would like to expand into new markets and opportunities, then you may want to consider contacting the Philadelphia International Airport, regardless of where you are located in the country.
The City of Philadelphia is the owner of the Philadelphia International […]

United Nations Adopts Treaty on the Rights of People with Disabilities
In December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a treaty on the rights of persons with disabilities. The treaty’s provisions detail the rights of persons with disabilities covering civil and political rights, accessibility, participation and inclusion, education, health, employment and social protections. […]

Attorney Representation in VA Claims Becomes Law
In late December 2006, President Bush signed into law the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006. Among its many provisions, the Act repealed a Civil War-era prohibition against veterans hiring attorneys to represent them before the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in pursuit […]

Participants Needed: Blood Pressure and Flow in Tetraplegia Study
Principle Investigator Jill M. Wecht, EdD, and her team at the Spinal Cord Damage Research Center at the James J. Peters VAMC in the Bronx will be conducting research on how blood pressure and flow in individuals with tetraplegia are controlled during head-up tilt on a […]

We’re in the midst of a sexual revolution for people with spinal cord injuries and disorders.

By Kelly Rouba
The very thought of Valentine’s Day and the images of intimacy that come along with it might have unnerved most individuals with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) more than a decade ago. But, since then, […]

Her column has helped countless couples––and herself—make sense of the dating game.
By Tiffiny Carlson

I never set out to be a dating columnist for people with disabilities. It just sort of happened that way.

I was injured at age 14 in 1993. While in college, I decided to take advantage of the free […]

Attitude is rated most important in determining health-related quality of life for adolescents with spina bifida.
By Rob Ingraham
While a positive attitude has always been considered an important factor in successfully adapting to a disability, researchers have begun to prove these assumptions in scientific studies.
Researchers in Wisconsin and Indiana recently examined health-related quality […]

The Murderball star becomes the spokesperson for anyone who’s ever had to wait for an accessible parking spot.
By Jennifer Rodriguez-Khadir

Mark Zupan scowls at a crucial moment of a new public
service announcement for United Spinal Association.
With his short red hair and long red goatee, US Paralympic quad rugby player Mark […]

By William Clarke

The tow rope became tense. It signaled that an object of great mass was being pulled. That object was me—or I was part of the object.
I was at a ski mountain in Pennsylvania by the name of Camelback, a chilly vacation spot. I came with my brother, my two nephews, my […]

By Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD

Last fall, my husband and I met Mark and Jasue Mix of Warsaw, Ohio, who had recently built a home along universal design principles. An Iraq war veteran who was injured in the war, Mark now uses a wheelchair. We were curious about the universal design features used in the […]

By Tamar Asedo Sherman
Suppose you’ve been injured or are experiencing exacerbations from a chronic health condition that impacts your ability to work. Before you leave that job in anger and frustration, stop and think. Is there some modification or adjustment to the job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done that […]

By Ed Lash
Yoga, meditation, self-hypnotism, Lamaze natural childbirth, mental imagery, and stress-management techniques all have one thing in common: they all induce relaxation using slow, deep breathing. Although each one of these disciplines has a different objective in mind, they all agree that relaxed breathing and relaxed thinking have a healing quality.
With MS, […]

By Kathleen M. Muldoon

When I sat in front of my computer to write this, inspiration struck twice! It’s February, which conjures up all kinds of mushy stuff about Valentines and love and lacy hearts. But then we have Presidents Day, too—so I had to decide . . . love or presidents? I know […]

By Tom Scott & Alan Krawitz
Long Island Member Aims to Expand Local Adaptive Sports Program
United Spinal Member Jason Soricelli recently became the new head of the Brookhaven, New York, adaptive sports and recreation program on Long Island. Soricelli, who was spinal cord injured in a 2004 motorcross accident, got his first taste […]

More than 55 years ago Bill and Joan were college sweethearts. Now, after a lifetime apart, the two United Spinal members are newlyweds.
By Chris Pierson

William Lee of Long Island and Joan Rhodes of Massachusetts first met as students at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Bill was a pianist and Joan […]

Action is now available in Podcast format from iTunes. To listen to an article, follow these four steps:

Be sure you have iTunes 7 on your computer.
Click the link to Action Podcasts
At the iTunes Store, dowload the Action issue that you’re interested in.
From the Toolbar on your iTunes player, choose the Chapter/article you want to listen […]