The QuadCast

The True Grit Spinal Cord Injury (TG SCI) program is a post-acute, community-based, rehabilitation program that aims to provide hope, healing, and inspiration to adolescents and young adults aged 16-21 with SCI. As a collaborative effort between Rutgers University and RWJ Barnabas Health Children’s Specialized Hospital (CSH), the long-term goal of the TG SCI program is to develop a comprehensive c...

Have I got a show for you this week! Matthew Rodreick & Jason Stoffer, co-hosts of the CureCast Podcast, are my guests. You'll hear about how spinal cord injury found its way into their lives, the work they do for and with unite2fight paralysis, and how through advocacy, education, and support for research, they continue to push for a complete and total cure for paralysis. I really enjoyed get...

WAGS of SCI was founded by Elena Pauly and Brooke Pagé in Vancouver BC Canada. Both Elena and Brooke's partners had sustained recent Spinal Cord Injuries and the women felt very alone in their new lives as girlfriends and caregivers of men with sudden, life changing injuries. After a chance meeting over Instagram, they soon realized they lived just blocks away from one another. Upon developing a f...

32 and counting! I upload today‘s edition of the podcast on August 19, 2024, exactly 32 years to the day that my life changed forever. To commemorate the somber milestone (injurversary) this year, I invited accomplished occupational therapist, and good friend, Denise Diessner, to join me in studio. I hand her the keys to the show, and she questions me for a change. I hope you’ll enjoy the: “I’ll g...

Louise Phipps Senft is a force of nature! She has excelled at the highest levels as an attorney, an author, a professor, fellow podcaster, and following her son Archer's 2015 spinal cord injury, an amazing advocate for individuals with SCI and their families. After having spent many months in ICUs and around her son's hospital bed, Louise realized that most hospitals in the US do not have Spinal C...

This week's edition of The QuadCast tackles the very important topics of dating, relationships, sexuality and disability, or three things I know next to nothing about, and one that I have 33 years of experience with. :-) Luckily my guest, Dr. Danielle Sheypuk, holds a Ph. D. in Clinical Psychology from The New School for Social Research in New York City. Dr. Sheypuk is widely regarded as a "sexper...

Good things do come to those who wait! When I launched The QuadCast 4 years ago, I had a list of dream guests. High profile folks who didn't know this little engine that could even existed, and yet I held out hope. At the top of that list was Marc Buoniconti, and today he's here! Persistence pays off my friends. Following Marc's SCI in 1985, his father Nick set out to conquer paralysis with the sa...

Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out... You are doing so right now without even thinking about it. Unfortunately, for some individuals with cervical spinal cord injuries, the ability to breath on their own is compromised, if not impossible. Enter Synapse Biomedical, and its NeuRx Diaphragmatic Pacing System, which is specifically designed to decrease the reliance on mechanical ventilators...

The date was June 20, 1991, Ryan Baker and his family set out on a long drive from Temecula, California, to their new home/life in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. They had bought into the Häagen-Dazs ice cream franchise which was based there. As if that wasn’t cool enough, the night before Ryan had just graduated from high school. Unfortunately, his journey to the Centennial State was about to take a...

As someone recording a podcast aimed at, and for the benefit of the spinal cord injured community, I wasn't sure if I was alone in this lane. Well, it turns out there are a number of us out there doing just the same, one of which is Jerimie Dixon. He was still in high school when he was in a catastrophic car accident that caused his SCI and subsequent paralysis. Jerimie and some great friends foun...

In January 2015, Jesi Stracham was the passenger on a motorcycle when it collided with a car. She woke up a week later in an intensive care unit without the use of her legs secondary to a spinal cord injury. Today she strives to help patients become people. She is the founder of Wheel With Me Foundation, the owner of Wheel With Me Consulting, and a fitness and growth coach. Through her struggles,...

Nick LiBassi had a great childhood growing up in Bergen County, New Jersey. He enjoyed playing many different sports and being outside with his family and friends. Remember, there were no cell phones to monopolize our time back in the day after all. Having watched and learned a great deal from his grandfather and uncle, who were carpenters, he knew early on that a life in construction and carpentr...

Since 2014, Nikki Walsh has been helping others become the best version of themselves! In 2018, a car crash left her paralyzed, but in no way has it stopped her from pursuing her career goals. Nikki is a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and wheelchair user. She works with fellow wheelchair users, and non-disabled individuals, to get stronger, learn how to effectively work out in their...

Touchdown Aaron! In my capacity as the Peer Mentoring Coordinator at Kessler Institute For Rehabilitation, I have had the opportunity to meet many people. Over my three years on the job however, Aaron Van Trease, and the tremendous strides he's made in recovery, has stood out above them all. His story is remarkable. It is one of football, family, friends, faith, and above all, FORTITUDE! Aaron was...

August 19, 2023 marks exactly 31 years for us on the SCI magical mystery tour. In honor of that, I thought I'd channel my inner Casey Kasem and spin some records that have, for one reason or another, stood out for me along the journey. So many songs to choose from over 3 decades, but I narrowed it down to 9. Because it has been anything but a stroll in the park, some of the songs/messages are a li...

My fellow SCI survivor and thriver, Tracey Iraca, is back! Yes, she's here to tell us how she's making out these days. As you'll recall, on her last day as an in-patient at Kessler Institute, Tracey joined me to tell her story (S3 E8). It was late December 2022, she was eager to return home, but had some concerns as well. In a new format for me/us here at the QuadCast, the "New Tracey" chronicles...

Amanda Parezo is currently an assistant professor and academic fieldwork coordinator for the Occupational Therapy department at Thomas Jefferson University. Having graduated from TJU's OT program in 2010, she worked clinically for over 10 years, specifically with older adults and those with traumatic brain injuries. Unfortunately, on May 19, 2021, she was the victim of a random act of gun violence...

Jen French is a very busy woman! She is an author/publisher, paralympian, public speaker, sailor, super advocate, founder of the North American Spinal Cord Injury Consortium, Neurotech Network, and more. As if that were not enough, she is also my guest on this week's edition of the QuadCast! Following her spinal cord injury in a 1998 snowboarding accident, Jen has been paying it forward for the SC...

It is with great pride that I post this week's episode of The QuadCast. My guest is Dan Rose, a veteran who was paralyzed from the waist down when an IED destroyed the truck he was riding in in Southern Afghanistan (2010) This would not have been possible were it not for the help of two very kind, good people, Martha MacCallum and Christopher Meek. Ms. MacCallum is host of "The Story With Martha M...

Mark Fuglevand founded Abilitease a few years ago with the vision of developing product solutions for individuals with disabilities. He makes products that not only help people become more independent, but makes them appealing and not institutional. Mark is married, has two boys, and lives in Southern California. Did I mention he is also a C-5 incomplete quad? Well, if that wasn't enough, Mark is...

At 27, Kelsey Peterson dove into Lake Superior, off the shores of Wisconsin, and emerged paralyzed. Suddenly living a new life, the former dancer struggled to redefine who she is while adapting to life with a disability. Kelsey is a smart, very deep thinker and I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with her, about among other things, her autobiographical film Move Me. In the documentary, that to...

I had the absolute pleasure speaking with Jerod and Hanna Nieder for this week's episode of the QuadCast, and I think after our hour-long conversation you will love them as much as I do! The Nieders story is really 3 in one. What began as the result of a tragedy (Jerod's SCI), has through the life they live helping others in the community (Jerod's work in spinal stimulation trials and Hanna's peer...

Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph. D. is a powerful, internationally recognized expert, speaker, author, consultant, CEO and Founder of Rossetti Enterprises LLC, a Disability-Owned Business through Disability: IN. since January 1997. Known for her Universal Design and Green Building Expertise, she and her husband, Mark led the design team, were the general contractors/builders, and since May 2012 have lived...

Ali Ingersoll has packed a lot into her 38 years! As a child her family moved every 2 years, so she lived in many different places (Germany, France, Miami, Los Angeles, and more). The Bahamas however were their home base. Following high school she went to China where she stayed for a while before coming back to the states for college (Occidental and University of Miami). Unfortunately while back i...

While the weather outside is frightful, today's episode of the podcast will be insightful, and it will certainly warm your heart. That is because my friend, Tracey Iraca, is my guest. She was injured in an accident that you will have to hear her describe for yourself to believe, and yet in her four-month stay as an inpatient at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, I never once heard her ask "why...