General

Aging with a disability can be challenging, but the great news is that people with physical disabilities such as spinal cord injury (SCI), Cerebral Palsy, and Multiple Sclerosis are living longer healthier lives.  It is also true, however, that for some people with a disability the effects of aging can set in younger than in…

Image credit/link: Spina Bifida Association – Awareness Month (spinabifidaassociation.org) Nearly 166,000 people in the United States have Spina Bifida.1 The literal meaning for Spina Bifida is “split spine” and it usually occurs within the first month of pregnancy when the neural tube is forming.  The severity of the disease varies depending on several factors, including…

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), which is led by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.  The real spirit of NDEAM is found in the ways we honor and participate in securing employment opportunities for people with disabilities across the United States.  2021’s theme is: “America’s Recovery: Powered by…

Welcome to the fourth monthly episode of our Bowel Care Mini Series. hosted in the Enemeez Thrive Facebook Community and led by Thrive Advocate, Scott Chesney. In this episode, Scott interviews Beth Householder with Quest Healthcare, a Division of Quest Products, LLC on understanding constipation and fecal incontinence in spinal cord injury. Hear about the…

September is national SCI Awareness Month. According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center’s “Facts and Figures at a Glance 2020”, there are approximately 296,000 Americans currently living with SCI, and about 17,900 new cases each year. People with SCI can live full, productive, and rewarding lives. To do so, it’s essential that they…

Spinal cord injury (SCI) interferes with the signals sent between the brain and the bowel, making proper bowel care management essential to reduce the risk of injury, illness, or accidents.  Every injury is different, and every person will have different bowel care needs depending on their mobility and level of injury.  Quadriplegic Bowel Care Injuries…

Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD) occurs, to at least some extent, in up to 90% of people with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) and those with upper thoracic injury above level T6.  AD can happen when an irritation below the level of injury occurs but the signals sent to the brain to respond to the irritant are…

It can be difficult to find television shows and films that authentically and accurately portray people with disabilities, especially when the show or film isn’t centered around a character’s disability but rather the richness of the character’s entire life.  It’s equally important to have shows and movies that help educate the public about what it’s…

Every February, we celebrate Black History Month to honor African American achievements, and recognize the pivotal contributions African Americans have made throughout the history of the United States. The 2020 theme for Black History Month is “African Americans and the Vote,” in honor of the centennial anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women’s suffrage,…