Gillette Healthcare, located here in Minnesota, has launched a new “Pity. It’s 100% Curable” Campaign. Here is what they say about it on www.curepity.org :
Gillette Healthcare is asking people to look beyond the disability with the "Pity. It's 100% Curable" campaign.
Most of our patients have medical conditions for which there are no cures. But through breakthrough surgeries and innovative medical treatments and therapies, we are able to help them overcome some of the barriers they face so they can lead more normal, joy-filled lives. That’s what we’re trying to communicate with this campaign. That Gillette does provide a cure for one of the most insidious human conditions of all—pity. We ask you to look beyond the disabilities and see the spirit, resiliency, and determination these children embody.
Click here to see some of the advertising for the “Pity. It’s 100% Curable” Campaign. Gillette also has some touching, engaging videos which highlights the struggles and triumphs of some of their kids. You can also read “A Physical Therapists Perspective on Standing“, written by Laura Gueron, PT at Gillette Lifetime Specialty Healthcare Clinic.
We have just completed this short video of the new EasyStand Bantam standing frame for kids. The video is an overview of the Bantam features, options, and benefits of standing for kids. This video below is from YouTube, but you can also find this video online at easystand.com on the Bantam page or the videos page. It is about five minutes long.
Did you see this video on 60 Minutes? It features a guy with ALS and a lady with a stroke who are both completely paralyzed and nonverbal. Neuroscientists have found a way to tap into the thoughts in their brain, and make them into actions performed through a computer. The gentleman with ALS is able to communicate by choosing letters on the screen, and the woman was able to move a cursor around the screen and even operate a power wheelchair with just her brain power. They also showed a monkey who actually controlled a robotic arm with his brain.
The hope is that the technology can help people with disabilities to communicate and control mechanisms like a wheelchair. See for yourself!
Because I sit in my wheelchair most of the day, my trunk muscles are not strong enough to steady my gun. Standing in my EasyStand helps me to steady my hand, making it easier to hit my targets.
One of the many activities I enjoy while standing is target practicing in from my patio. By utilizing my EasyStand Evolv stander, I feel it gives me the true position needed to target practice.
First of all, Iʼm in a standing position. Second, the tray on top of the standing frame helps steady my shot. Third, I have a better view. Finally, the support and balance the standing frame gives me is by far the most beneficial.
With all things considered, the stander helps prepare me for the real hunt. Thanks to EasyStand for improving my quality of life as a T5 paraplegic.
To read more about Jadian Foley, his activities, and standing routine, read his EasyStand customer story.
Does standing help you perform tasks or activities that are otherwise more difficult when in a wheelchair? What activities do you do while standing?
Now, with the election behind us, and new President-Elect Barack Obama ready to take over the office in a couple months, the United States is bracing itself for change. Barack Obama plans to empower people with disabilities through these key positions:
Provide the educational opportunities that Americans with disabilities need to succeed
End workplace discrimination and promote equal opportunity
Increase the employment rate of workers with disabilities
Support independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities
In Obama’s acceptance speech on November 4th, 2008, he specifically mentioned “people with disabilities”.
Barack Obama has a plan to empower people with disabilities.
“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.
It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.We are, and always will be, the United States of America.” – President-Elect Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2008
What do you think of Barack’s plans to empower Americans with Disabilities?
Hi!My name is Ginny Paleg and I am a pediatric physical therapist in Maryland.My specialty is getting children with severe gross motor dysfunction (GMFCS Level IV and V) to take steps in gait trainers.To get to this goal, I use passive standing, body weight supported gait therapy over a treadmill, and am investigating passive/assisted cycling and vibration platforms.My “dissertation” (final project for my DScPT) was a systematic review on passive standing and a webinar presenting what I found.I sorted the articles by level of evidence, clinical outcomes, diagnosis, type of stander, and length of standing time.
I hope the flow charts can help folks decide how long to stand, which type of standing device to use, typical complications of standing, as well as appropriate measurable attainable clinical goals of standing.I included research studies on standing combined with oscillation, vibration, electrical stimulation and exercise programs.
I ran across this video on Youtube showing Matt, a young man who has ALS- Lou Gehrig’s disease, using the EasyStand stander. Shartrina is Matt’s wife and caregiver, and demonstrates how she transfers Matt into the stander and gets him into the standing position. She also has some tips on making it more comfortable, adapting it for use with a ventilator, and more.
Matt and Shartrina have an inspirational website called the Matt White Cure ALS Foundation where they have documented their story and are educating others on ALS. I encourage you to check out www.cureals.org to read about their story.
What do you think of the video? Do you know a person who has ALS?
Ryan has Cerebral Palsy and uses a power wheelchair for mobility, but doesn’t let his disability slow him down. He does fun therapy in his standing frame, walker, and bike to keep his muscles strong for other activities. He goes horseback riding, skis, swims, and does many other things that able-bodied kids do. His mom, Luann, shares how Ryan stays healthy and active through daily standing therapy and a variety of other great activities.
When you see Ryan, you see a glowing kid, full of potential. Ryan started standing in an EasyStand Magician-ei when he was only three years old; he worked his way up to an EasyStand Magician Comfy and is a third grader already! We had the pleasure of meeting Ryan at his home during a photo shoot with the new EasyStand Bantam. In this video, you see Ryan standing in the Magician-ei, Magician Comfy, and Bantam.
What do you think of Ryan’s story? What activities do you do for fun?
Matt building strength in the EasyStand Evolv Glider at Project Walk, in Carlsbad, CA.
It’s not everyday that you meet a person like Matt Courson. Matt is a 23 year old college student from Arkansas, who is a T7 Incomplete paraplegic. He is determined, hard-working, and the type of guy that you just sense the great attitude oozing out of him. I say this without meeting him face-to-face, but feel like I have after seeing him on youtube, Mattcourson.org, Facebook, and even the Washington Post.
Through his rehab programs at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, & Project Walk in Carlsbad, California, and hours of rehab at home, Matt is working towards becoming the 1%. To understand what it means to be the 1%, know that his doctors told him that there was a 99% chance that he would never walk again.
Earlier this year, the Washington Post wrote an article about Kennedy Krieger Institute and activity-based restorative therapy. It includes interviews with Pat Rummerfield, who after 17 years of therapy has regained his ability to walk, and Matt Courson who seems to be following in his footsteps with his hard work, faith and determination.
Matt Courson uses the EasyStand Glider stander, combined with electrical stimulation, to gain strength, build muscle mass, and ultimately achieve his goal of walking on his own again one day.
This powerful and encapsulating commercial from Liberty Mutual shows the challenges a young woman in a wheelchair experiences, while going out to vote. Nothing stops her, including a car that won’t run, rainy weather, or an inaccessible polling place. This inspirational commercial stars our friend and EasyStand Glider owner, Teal Sherer.
Teal is an L.A. based actor, writer, and activist for performers with disabilities. You can read more about Teal’s story and ambitions on her website at www.tealsherer.com
This commercial is a great reminder to get out and vote, and not let small obstacles stop you from doing big things.
Have you run into accessibility issues at the polls? DontBlockMyVote.org helps to engage people with disabilities and their supporters in the election process.
Find topics and personal stories on life in a wheelchair and disability, healthy living, the benefits of standing, and what's happening with EasyStand.
