paralysis advocacy Spinal Cord Injury

Paralysis Advocacy

Determined2Heal Tips:

Until I became paralyzed, I had thought very little about what it would be like to live a lifestyle confined to accessibility. My experience with a disability has opened my eyes to a whole new world. With the unique understanding of what able-bodied and disabled life is like, I am able to address specific challenges.

Mostly, I dream of a day when we can get up out of our chairs and have paralysis be a memory. There is a great deal of research being done to help us with rehabilitation and to develop a cure. We need to band together to promote our cause to the public and encourage our law makers to support the valuable research that will change our lives.

The best thing we can do is to get to know each other and focus on common goals. The computer has enabled us to find each other easily on the Care Cure Community. I encourage you, paralyzed or not, to join this forum. It is the largest spinal cord injury forum on the Internet. Its unique design connects the spinal cord world together. Sharing information allows for specific questions to be answered that can make a huge difference in an individual's life. All types of questions are addressed. There are many pros and cons about this forum. The pros definitely outweigh the cons. But the cons can seriously affect an individual's lifestyle and mentality. One of the main things that needs to the addressed before joining is to understand that the people responding are providing their own views and in no way should be taken as fact. Before pursuing or adopting any of the information accessed from this forum you should always contact a professional. There are many negative individuals on this website who have given up hope and unfortunately share that pessimism with the community as a whole. Being able to block out these individuals is key because the amount of knowledge that can be gained by this forum makes it the most unique informational forum on the Internet.

Another important way to advocate paralysis is to get out in your community and share your story. Many of us become inspirational speakers because our message of battling through adversity and being able to come out on top is an attractive speech topic. There are many other messages that need to be delivered and unfortunately most people don’t think or listen to us until they know our stories. The first thing a person acknowledges about us is our wheelchair. The second thing is our voice. It is important to let the able-bodied community understand that our disability might affect us physically but not mentally--we are capable of accomplishing anything. The bottom line is that the body does not control the mind, the mind controls the body.

Keep in touch with people. You want people to remember you and your cause. If your friends know and understand what you are trying to do, they will tell their friends, creating an important network. You will find that people from all over will contact you with different angles and opportunities to help your cause.

The Unite2Fight Paralysis website brings our spinal cord community together to fight for important advocacy projects. Visit their website to learn more about how to get involved with getting the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act passed.

Another great place to get involved with advocacy is the Christopher Reeve Action Network. You can find out about the progress of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act.

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paralysis advocacy spinal cord injury