About six months ago, Dana Brown Ritter, the voice behind the disability relationship blog LoveLikeTheLife.com, guest posted on our site. She’s married to Michael Ritter, a C5-6 quad, and her blog highlights their relationship while she works as a television producer and journalist. The guest post (“We Are”) she shared with us was one of the most popular posts from her site (read it here) – a beautiful poem dedicated to the wives of quadriplegics, and now she’s turned it into an ebook.

I think there’s nothing more awesome then reading a passage in a book and knowing that the person who wrote it really gets what you’re going through (it feels so good knowing you’re not alone). And that is why why Dana’s book, We Are: A Caregiving Manifesto, is so badly needed and so I’m thrilled it’s available. There are a ton of able-bodied women married to disabled men (more than ever before) who have to juggle the rules of being both a caregiver and a lover. This isn’t easy but it can be done with success. Her ebook is something every husband or wife of a quadriplegic should read (or together since it’s pretty short).

Once Dana saw an opportunity to write this ebook, what she ended up with a 40 page ebook based on the meat of the “We Are” post. Since ebooks are more popular than ever nowdays (you can thank Kindle for that) you can buy it for a lark of the deal at $2.99. In her book, she talks about all the good things of being married to a quad (there’s always a lap to sit in, their chests in bed are a great place to lay your head) and the frustrations, yet she remains positive because of her faith and love of humanity.

This ebook is definitely a much-needed book in the spinal cord injury community. Caregivers are unfortunately some of the last people we cater to, whether it’s in the disability world or the able-bodied world. And we all know how it can backfire when they’re neglected (I’ve been guilty of this myself). They’ll get burnt out, overwhelmed, and in many cases they’ll just walk away.

But if they had a book straight from the get-go by someone who knows what they’re going through, this is no doubt in my mind that it would help everyone involved

Does your spouse or loved one help you with their cares? Or are you a caregiver? What do you think of Dana’s new book?

- Visit the official site for We Are: A Caregiving Manifesto (and purchase a copy via Amazon)

 Watch the videos!

- Dana and Michael’s beachside wedding video

- Fun video of Michael shows the art of shaving

Why climb stairs in a wheelchair? Because they’re there of course. No way around ‘em. Sometimes when an elevator just isn’t around, we have no choice but to come up with some creative solutions. And boy are there some great ones.

For people with limited arm strength, going for new fangled stair-climbing technology is the way to go, but if you have a strong upper-body, all you need is a lightweight chair and a sturdy railing to pull off some of these amazing stair-climbing tricks. Here some stair climbing videos you have to see to believe.

The first video comes from my friend and SPINALpedia member, Ekondo (Erik Kondo), a buff paraplegic from Massachusetts. He has mastered the art of climbing stairs from by doing the “Railing Side Wheel Control” method.

In his video showing him teaching his method to a newbie para at Spaulding Rehab Hospital, watch as he rolls up each step gingerly, and leans to the side and grips the railing to pull up his body weight. Being in shape and not overweight is a MUST to do this trick (and as you’ll see, going down is MUCH easier). Watch the video

The second video comes from SPINALpedia member Ebayspinalpedia, an extreme paraplegic who in his free time likes to go paragliding in Chile (nice!). In this video, watch him use a custom overhead railing (his own invention), installed over his home’s staircase (he couldn’t afford an elevator). In 15 seconds, watch as he flies down his staircase with finesse holding onto the railing above. Watch!

If you could never do what these buff guys do, then you’ll love our third video of the Observer Maximus stair-climbing wheelchair. With the iBot no longer being made (the US version of a stair climbing wheelchair; it was discontinued a few years ago) this bad boy from Russia is one of our few options left.

It climbs stairs by having fours wheels that separately move in response to one another. Watch as users take it all over the place. I’m really in awe of this machine. It seems like such a great, relatively easy solution US manufacturers could start applying to their wheelchairs. Come on guys get on it.

I am so tired and looking at stairs and seeing nothing but one thing – limitations. I love these videos. They prove that – without question – we can overcome one of the most villainous things that can confront a wheelchair.

Have you tackled something seemingly impossible in your wheelchair and succeeded?

Watch these stair-climbing videos!

- Basic handrail method taught by Ekondo

- Custom handrail installed in home

- Observer Maximus Stair Climbing Wheelchair