Recently I was talking to David Politz, 45, an Air Force veteran and United Spinal member from Philadelphia, who was telling me about his plans this summer. After four years in rehab for an accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury, Dave said, “I’m finally going to take a vacation.”
This past spring, Dave was reading an issue of Action when his eye fell on an ad for “wheelchair friendly cruises” from Royal Caribbean and United Spinal’s ABLE to Travel program. (You can see a similar ad on page 15 of this issue.) “Something about it really caught my attention,” Dave told me. Adding some sugar to an already sweet dream, Dave noticed that one cruise came directly on the heels of the 2007 North American Spinal Cord Injury Conference and Disability Expo, which United Spinal is hosting at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, Florida, next month. “It looks like there’s a lot of information there that might make my life a little easier,” Dave thought.
Dave’s twin sister Darlene Pakela, despite feeling some anxiety about her brother’s first venture after his injury and away from his assisted living residence, is also proud of his adventurous spirit. “Nothing has inspired him to get out and go on his own before,” she said. “He’s really made his mind up that this is something he has to do.”
If you haven’t considered attending the conference, I hope you’ll take a few moments to look over the ad on the back of this issue. If you’re interested in coming to Orlando to meet other members like Dave Politz while participating in workshops on subjects ranging from pain management and effective treatment of spasticity to job searching and self-advocacy- and a whole lot more-please visit www.sciconference.org for more information. And if you want a post-conference accessible adventure in the Caribbean, be sure to visit www.abletotravel.org, too, or call toll-free 888-211-3635.
Christofer D. Pierson
Managing Editor
