The following are from NewMobility.com –ed. NEW ART EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES
On May 19 at the Dorsch Gallery, more than 500 Miamians were exposed to raw, au naturel photographs of women wheelchair users from around the world. Sponsored by Miami CIL, the Uncensored Lives — Raw Beauty exhibit showed many of the models nude and outside their chairs.
For Miamian Marjorie Burnettz, posing nude on the beach and then dressed as a mermaid allowed her to express herself in a way that society usually doesn’t allow a disabled person.
“That’s the main reason I did this,” Burnettz says. “I love the inspiration of the human body. I think the human body is very beautiful, and as disabled women, society doesn’t allow us to expose ourselves like everybody else.”
Asked if she was at all shy, Burnettz says, “No, but the photographer was. He was a student, and it was the first time he’d done anything like this.” The photographers were all nondisabled. To view several photos, go to www.rawbeautyproject.com Organizers are looking for gallery and local Disability sponsors. Contact Vanessa Silberman, 786/554-9572 or vannysilver@yahoo.com
ROLLERCOASTING WHEELING
San Francisco’s hilly topography may not be your top pick for vacationing or living, but you may be surprised at how accessible Northern California’s coastline is for wheelchairs. Writer Bonnie Lewkowicz, in conjunction with California Coastal Conservancy, traveled many of the 500 miles of coastline to update the free “A Wheelchair Rider’s Guide —San Francisco Bay and the Nearby Coast.” “I was surprised by how many places were accessible,” says Lewkowicz, a C5-6 Quad. Contact the California Coastal Consevancy, 510/286-1015, or download a PDF at www.coastalconservancy.ca.gov.
REEVE’S CHAIR LANDS IN CHOP SHOP
When Dave Heim, founder of the Wheelchair Recycler and resident of Marlboro, Mass., got a call from the Christopher Reeve Foundation offering Reeve’s first wheelchair, he jumped at the chance. Heim’s organization rebuilds and fixes individual’s wheelchairs using donated chairs and scooters. Recipients are charged only if they can afford it. Heim stored Reed’s chair in a closet, planning to show it at parades and rallies to rise awareness. Then somebody’s chair needed the same type of piston’s as on Reeve’s chair. Then a chair needed some brackets and the vent tray. Then Heim met Joe Dunn.
“We got Joe a chair and used Reeve’s armrests, and I think it changed his life,” says Heim. “I think he was in a bit of Denial. Knowing this was ‘Superman’s’ chair changed his perspective.”
Injured last year in a motorcycle accident, Dunn, a C4 quad, agrees. “I met Dave while I was in rehab. I was in my bed and didn’t have a wheelchair because the hospital didn’t have one for me to use,” says Dunn. “Dave enlightened my life. He knew I was in desperate need to be mobile and get my independence back — but it is cool to put my arms where Christopher Reeve’s were.”
Heim is in the process of downsizing his home and is looking for space to continue recycling. Contact him at 508/460-6328 or www.wheelchair-recycler.com
MOTORCYCLING: THE MISSING LINK
Jim Leatherman, a wheelchair user since childhood, never rode a bike. Then he bought a Gold Wing Honda that a previous owner had equipped with a wheelchair carrier.
“I never rode a tricycle, a bike, or a motorcycle, until a few weeks ago,” says Leatherman, who lost his legs just below the hips at age 6. “Now I can go anywhere by myself. The carrier’s given me the whole freedom to ride.”
Not content to hog the biker joy for himself, Leatherman worked with designer and avid Harley rider, Dana Fiege, to perfect the model. Now the carrier is made from stainless steel and attaches to a back fender on most trikes. The wheelchair is held in place with a bracket..
“We believe we’ve got the final piece of allowing wheelchair users to ride independently,” says Leatherman, who lives in Baltimore. For more information, contact Dana Fiege, Freedom Track, 410/917-0012 or www.freedom-track.com
