Network News

January 2022
Spinal Network's mission is to support the employment and education of individuals with spinal cord injuries/diagnoses by providing the tools and community support to be successful in their work and personal lives.
Let us not return to what was normal, but reach towards what is next.
Amanda Gorman
Greetings!

Well we did it! We survived 2021.....and let's hope that 2022 is a much better year. This past year was tough on our community, we lost loved ones and friends, but we are here and we need to keep things moving forward, because that's what we do. No long winded speech today, let's welcome in the New Year with good health and kindness.

Sincerely,

Rick Hayden
Executive Director
Walk, Roll & Stroll at Mission Beach
What a great time walking, rolling and strolling along the bay at South Shores Park. We meet every other Saturday at 9:30 right near the boat launch and restrooms. Come join us as we enjoy some fresh air, getting a little exercise (we travel at a slow pace) and great conversation.

This is open to everyone!

Hope to see you there on
January 8th and 22nd
CAF's High School Adaptive Sports Program
for Track and Field to be held at SDSU
Coming up at the end of January (pending local COVID numbers and public health protocols) the Challenged Athletes Foundation is hosting their High School Adaptive Sports Program for Track and Field here at SDSU! This program is open to middle school and high school athletes of all experience and ability levels. It will run for six consecutive Sundays starting January 23, 2022 and is designed to:
  • Increase awareness of adaptive sport opportunities in schools
  • Provide coaching and instructional resources
  • Create both in-person training and virtual programming for student-athletes
The website with links for participant registration, volunteers, and virtual resources can be found here as well as on our Google Doc. I have also attached the flyer below!
Mobility Community Access Partners
MCAP
Spinal Network is proud to be a part of this new and exciting group. We held our first meeting via zoom last week and it was filled with such a creative buzz. Each of the fifteen groups listed below do great things in our community individually, now try to imagine what we can do collectively.
Spinal Network's New Podcast Series
A new podcast the 5th and 20th of each month
Click on the button to go to our Podcast page where you can find the link to our podcasts on all available platforms.

We will post a new podcast on the 5th and 20th of each month.
Assistive Technology Loan Closet
We've begun to schedule assessments for assistive technology, this equipment is a game changer for so many. Here is a link that will show the equipment we have in our inventory as well as additional information on the program https://www.spinal-network.org/assistive-technology-loan-closet/.
You can also email Rick Hayden by clicking the button below.
Caregiver Needed, Let Us Know
We are going to try and help with this, we are launching a page on our website where you can list your need for a caregiver. We will let the career center at the various colleges/universities in the county about the page. It is our hope that the page gets noticed and that your particular needs will be met. Here is a link to the page.
San Diego State University Adapted Athletics (SDSU AA) is the first and only competitive, collegiate adaptive athletics program in California. The program became official in 2019 and is now housed in the Associated Students auxiliary of San Diego State University within the Aztec Recreation Department. Ahkeel Whitehead, 2016 U.S. Paralympian, became SDSU AA’s first Director. Along with a team of dedicated coaches, advisors, researchers, and high performance partners, Whitehead is preparing for this program to achieve new heights in 2022.

The program’s vision is to create a sustainable network of support to prepare and develop the adaptive athlete for excellence in their personal, professional, and athletic endeavors. In addition to high-caliber education, nationally and internationally-recognized coaches, the athletes also receive outstanding strength and conditioning training plus support from the university’s incredible physical therapists and sports nutritionists. Currently, student-athletes are offered programming for two competitive teams - Wheelchair Tennis and Ambulatory Track and Field. The teams have both gone on to compete at national-level competitions each year where top athletes are selected to represent Team U.S.A. around the world.

As awareness of and support for this program increases, the opportunities for growth at San Diego State University are rapidly expanding. Partnerships in the community have been an integral source of support for the program and new opportunities for adaptive athletes in the greater San Diego area and beyond are coming soon. In the new year, SDSU AA plans to host
Wheelchair Tennis, Wheelchair Basketball, and Track and Field clinics. One of the first clinics of the year will be in partnership with the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) to host the San Diego section of CAF’s High School Adaptive Sports Track and Field Program. (With consideration to the health and wellness of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, official event details are pending).

For more information on the program please visit their website here and follow them on social media @sdsuadaptedathletics on Instagram or “SDSU Adapted Athletics” on Facebook. If you are interested in being added to their emailing list to receive updates about the program please
email: arc.adaptedathletics@sdsu.edu
New Mobility Magazine
Going Bi-Monthly
If you received your print edition of the January-February issue and you can’t stop fighting a weird feeling that something is a little different — like there’s a glitch in the matrix — let me put your mind at ease: Something is different. For 25 years, we’ve been publishing issues monthly — this is our first bimonthly issue since 1995.

Moving to six print issues a year doesn’t mean we’re cutting the amount of content we will generate. In fact, our plan is to produce more than we did with monthly printing. The difference is we’ll be debuting more of that content online. The result will be a livelier website with more frequent updates with timely articles and bigger print issues filled with original content and the best of the stories that were first published online.
Grassroots Advocacy
Throughout this year, United Spinal's advocacy team has been pushing to increase engagement and participation in advocacy efforts from our community. Our 2021 Roll on Capitol Hill had a record number of advocates participate, we've launched new advocacy programming, and we now have more than 1,100 registered advocates across all 50 states.
 
As we enter the fourth quarter of 2021, we want to make sure that we're finishing strong with our 75th Anniversary Advocacy Challenges. These year-long challenges for our chapters and advocates feature great prizes which will be awarded in December. If you haven't participated yet, you're in luck — there's plenty of time for you to enter and win.
 
Our 75th Anniversary Advocacy Challenge is aimed at encouraging as many people as possible to sign up as a United Spinal registered advocate and to send our action alerts to their members of Congress. The categories for prizes are as follows:
  • Chapter Prize: Most Advocate Registrations by Chapter Area
  • Chapter Prize: Most Action Alerts Sent by Advocates in Chapter Area
  • Advocate Prize: Random Drawing of Registered Advocate
  • Advocate Prize: Most Action Alerts Sent by Advocate

We also have our 75th Anniversary Recognition Challenge, where we are encouraging our chapters and individual advocates to reach out to your state and local officials to ask them to formally recognize United Spinal's 75th anniversary through a resolution or proclamation. United Spinal did this at the federal level this year through a bipartisan resolution that passed in the U.S. Senate in June. So far this year, chapters and advocates in six states — Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee — have done the same at the state level. We have a template for advocates to use for this purpose. The categories for prizes are as follows:
  • Chapter/Advocate Prize: State-level resolution or proclamation (state legislature or governor)
  • Chapter/Advocate Prize: Local-level resolution or proclamation (city/county government or mayor)
Let's finish this year strong as we celebrate 75 years of United Spinal! The quickest ways to participate in these challenges are to register as an advocate (if you haven't already) and to visit our Action Center to send in our action alerts.
 
Thanks for all you do,
 
Steve Lieberman
New and Interesting Cushion from Roho
Hybrid Select
The ROHO Hybrid Select cushion features a foam base with leg troughs for support and stability, and air cells with a removable ischial tuberosity insert. “ROHO is renowned for its skin and soft tissue protection, and this cushion allows the pelvis to be immersed in air that shapes to the individual and moves with them,” said Conor Sullivan, a seating and positioning product manager for Permobil, in a press release. “Then, by simply removing the IT insert, they can experience the relief of offloading, and put it back in when needed.” 
Peer Mentor Training and Program Update
from United Spinal
We will host a virtual peer mentor training in collaboration with United Spinal's Lindsey Elliott. This training will be held in either December or January depending on her availability. It will be in two parts, the first is an online course that should take about 1 hour. The second part will be live on zoom and run approximately 3 - 3.5 hours. This will not only be a valuable resource for new mentors but a great refresher course for those of us that have been trained in the past. Check future newsletters for the date and time.

United Spinal will be introducing a peer mentor newsletter in the upcoming months, if interested and you would like to be on the list to receive it, shoot me an email.
Looking for a Peer Mentor?
Do You Want to Become a Peer Mentor?
Spinal Network has eleven certified peer mentors available to meet, listen, share their experiences as well as sharing resources and services. Whether your newly injured/diagnosed or you've been wheeling this earth for a while, or maybe your a friend, family member or rehab professional, reach out, we're here for you.

Get Your Free Paralysis Resource Guide
The Paralysis Resource Guide is a one-stop handbook to help people with paralysis and their families or caregivers navigate the world of paralysis. The book is written for consumers. The topics covered include the various causes of paralysis (stroke, spinal cord injury, spina bifida, etc.) as well as various secondary conditions caused by paralysis (pain, spasticity, bladder management, etc.). Other chapters cover topics that help one live successfully with paralysis including travel, recreation and sports, home modification, signing up for federal benefits, and wheelchair selection. There are also chapters on resources for children living with paralysis, disabled veterans and caregivers.
Cure Medical Donates 10% of Sales to SCI Research
me+™ from ConvaTec Continence Care is a support program designed to help you navigate life using intermittent catheters. As a member of me+™, you have full access to several benefits:
• A team of WOC nurses and product specialists available by phone or email to answer questions and offer advice.
• Personalized product sampling helping to ensure you are using the best product for you and your cathing needs.
• The GentleCath™ Video Trainer, create your own personalized video guide with tips and advice tailored to your approach to cathing.
• me+ answers, an in-depth online resource for all your cathing questions.
• me+ community, highlighting real stories and experiences from intermittent catheter users.

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