South Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Association

Fall 2014Issue 8

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A couple of summers before his

C 5/6 spinal cord injury, Jessie

Jones’ Boy Scout troop discovered

the thrill of soaring down a zip line.

It would be another 16 years before

Jones repeated the experience, this

time excitedly leaving his power

wheelchair behind.

Jones was one of 20 people who

took part in an October zip line

excursion hosted by the Midlands

Breeze Group and Fun4All, a non-

profit in Columbia that provides

recreational opportunities for

individuals with disabilities. The trip

to Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge,

Georgia, was funded through

a grant from the United Spinal

Association in conjunction with

Hollister Continence Care.

Because the camp serves children

with disabilities and serious illnesses,

the staff was well-equipped to assist

adults with spinal cord injuries. After

transferring out of their chairs, each

person was secured with a network

of equipment, which included a

special harness that resembles a

large sling. “This superman harness

gives better support to people

who may have limited mobility,”

explained Josh Cagliani, Camp

Dream Coordinator at Twin Lakes.

Participants were then lifted to the

top of a 40-foot tower, where one

by one they cascaded through the

woods and over a pond.

“Oh my gosh, it was so freeing,” said

Yanisse Scott, after the hydraulic lift

system lowered her back into her

wheelchair. “The super power I’ve

always wanted was to be able to fly

and I was flying,” she said.

Because Scott has good upper

body strength with her T-7 injury,

she chose to pull herself up the

rope to the top of the tower

instead of the staff hauling her. “It

was difficult,” she said, “But I just

kept telling myself: ‘You can do it.

You can do it.’”

Alicia Reagan also jumped at the

challenge of pulling herself up the

rope. Five years into paralysis

from transverse myelitis, Reagan

acknowledges the frustrations

that have come with her physical

limitations: “If you can take that

frustration and put it into finding

a different way to do something,

you can do what you want to.” By

the end of the day she had happily

checked “zip line” off her bucket list.

As their safety gear was removed,

participants’ immediate responses to

the experience included “amazing,”

“thrilling,” and “awesome.”

Leaving Wheelchairs Behind And Taking To The Sky

Jessie Jones sails over a pond.

Alicia Reagan’s ready for an adventure.

Continued on Page 4.

Leaving Wheelchairs Behind And Taking To The Sky

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Like typical beauty queens, they wear sparkling

gowns and brilliant smiles. Yet unlike a typical

pageant, Ms. Wheelchair USA represents far more

than just glamorous women. The annual event

promotes self-confidence, achievements, and

community service of women with disabilities.

“It didn’t even feel like a competition because no

one was trying to be better than anyone else,” said

Jarae Anderson, Ms. Wheelchair South Carolina

2014. The 23-year-old resident of Ridgeland,

South Carolina, represented the state in July at the

pageant in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

As young as she is, Anderson is a veteran of spinal

cord injury. She was only seven years old when a

head-on collision left her with a T-7 injury and killed

three family members. She has vague memories of

months in the hospital and the life-threatening coma

that doctors didn’t think she would survive. Much of

her rehabilitation was through practical experience.

“I remember a physical therapist coming to my

house and making me push around the projects.

And I was expected to vacuum, wash dishes, and

do everything else other family members did,” she

recalled.

As she got older, the younger children in her low-

income housing development gravitated to her. “I’d

have one sitting on my lap, one standing next to

me holding my hand, and another pushing me.” She

returned their affection by providing a listening ear

and taking them to the park after school while their

parents were working.

Fast forward to the present and Anderson

volunteers at local nursing homes and is employed

as a cashier with Goodwill. She starting out sorting

clothes in a back room; it wasn’t the best fit for her

vivacious personality. With the help of Vocational

Rehabilitation and a standing wheelchair, she is now

working up front where she enjoys the interaction

with customers during her shifts.

Her Time To Shine

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Her ultimate goal is to be a model and she’s not

intimidated by reaching for that dream with a spinal

cord injury. “I think my disability is going to be my

way to shine,” Anderson said. Like any aspiring model

she’s enamored with clothes. “I could change my

clothes 13,000 times a day if I had the money to buy

them. I love shopping and dressing up. That’s where

my creativity comes in.”

The pageant provided plenty of time in the dressing

room, from getting decked out for a roaring 20’s party

to donning biker gear for a fashion show at a Harley

Davidson dealership. Her favorite selection was

actually a tailored business suit. “I had never worn a

blazer before and felt like such a lady.”

While the activities and corresponding attire were fun,

Anderson cherishes the strong bonds created with

the other contestants during the week in Ohio. “It was

all about meeting other women in wheelchairs,” she

said. “We’re like a family now. If I post a problem on

Facebook, my ‘pageant girls’ respond to encourage me.”

The national title went to Ms. Wheelchair Georgia,

Yvette Pegues, based on her advocacy for people

with disabilities, including a book she wrote titled “My

Mommy Had Brain Surgery and I’m Okay.” “She is so

full of encouragement; it was just jumping out of her

body,” Anderson said.

Back home in South Carolina, Anderson has

shared her spinal cord injury story with two of

the association’s Breeze groups. She was also the

featured speaker at an awareness walk-and-roll event

sponsored by the Mayors of Spartanburg County

Committee for People with Disabilities. She loves

to share fond memories of a special week that that

motivated and inspired her. “I really didn’t care who

won; it was just great to be there.”

“I really didn’t care who won; it

was just great to be there.”~ Jarae Anderson

Left page, top: Jarae Anderson (right) and Ms. Wheelchair USA, Yvette Pegues (left), bottom: Jarae representing her state, Right page, top: LaQuanda Porchea (right) with Jarae at an event in Spartanburg, bottom: Jarae during the pageant festivities

South Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Association136 Stonemark Lane, Suite 100 Columbia, S.C. 29210 803-252-2198 info@scspinalcord.org www.scspinalcord.org

Facebook.com/scscia @SCSpinalCord

Continued from Page 1.

PRSRT. STD.US POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 920COLUMBIA, SC

Cagliani was equally elated. “We

get to watch their expressions,”

he said. “It’s the greatest feeling

in the world to watch someone do

something that they thought they

couldn’t do.”

New experiences during the day

also included trial and error at

the camp’s archery range. On the

playground, three adventurous

women were enticed by the

prospect of

transferring out of

their wheelchairs

into standard

swings. “We had to

try it several times

before we got the

knack of it. We fell and got back

up, but had fun in the process. We

achieved something,” Scott said.

As the group shared a sense of

achievement and a comfortable

camaraderie, Rafe Ellisor, the co-

founder of Fun4All with a C-7 injury,

reflected on his personal passion

for recreation. “My Dad instilled

in me that doing things you enjoy

leads to happiness, and there is no

room for giving up on that after a

disability. If you take everything out

of a person’s life that’s enjoyable

they are going to be sad. Through

activities like the zip line trip and

hunting and fishing, I want to be

able to provide to folks what my

Dad provided for me.”

For more information on the variety of recreational activities sponsored by Fun4All, contact fun4Allsc.org or (803) 920-9753. 4

Yanisse Scott gets ready to ascend the tower.

Brigham and Women’s Study

The Translational Pain Research Group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital

in Boston, Massachusetts, is seeking individuals with pain as a result of a

spinal cord injury to participate in a research study. To qualify, volunteers

must be between the ages of 18 and 65, able to make four overnight visits

to the hospital, and have had pain for at least three months.

While the hospital is located in Boston, the study will reimburse participants

for pre-approved transportation, lodging, and some meals. Volunteers who

qualify for the study will be compensated for their time as well. For more

information, call (617) 525-7246 or email PainTrials@partners.org.

Recruitment ends December 31, 2014.

Youth Project

The association is looking to do extended interviews with individuals

with spinal cord injuries, between the ages of 18 and 29, to learn

how the association can be of more assistance to them. The

individuals can be manual or power wheelchair users.

Interviews will last between 60 and 90 minutes. Each person who

completes an interview will receive a $25 gift card. To qualify,

individuals must live in South Carolina, be at least one year

post-injury, and not regularly attend local Breeze group meetings.

For more information, contact Diane Epperly at

803-252-2198 or at diane@scspinalcord.org.

Labeling equipment

In the case of an extreme emergency in which homes have to be

evacuated, people with spinal cord injuries can take one simple step to

help safeguard their wheelchairs. Labeling a wheelchair with contact

information can help reunite an individual with the chair, should a

rescuer not be able to take the chair at the same time as the person.

South C

arolina Spinal C

ord Injury Association

Checking Credit

Credit reports can have a major impact on consumers’ finances, including mortgage rates,

credit card approvals, deposit requirements for cell phones and other utilities, and even job

applications. Reviewing credit reports annually allows individuals to make sure their information

is accurate and to monitor for any fraudulent activity.

A free credit report can be obtained every 12 months from each credit bureau.

Reports can be requested at annualcreditreport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228.

Books for Loan

The association has a number of memoirs in the office that are available for loan.

Each shares an individual’s particular spinal cord injury story. Titles include:

“Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence”

By Matthew Sanford

After becoming paralyzed at the age of 13 in a car crash, Matthew Sanford struggled to

find wholeness. His journey eventually led him to yoga and a lifelong commitment to teaching

yoga to people with disabilities.

“My Last Step Backward”

By Tasha Schuh with Jan Pavloski

Tasha Schuh’s life changed at the age of 16 when she fell sixteen feet through a trap door

on a stage. The memoir chronicles her adjustment to C-5 quadriplegia and her determination

to live an independent and fulfilling life.

“Eleven Seconds: A Story of Tragedy, Courage and Triumph”

By Travis Roy with E.M. Swift

A rising hockey star, Travis Roy became a quadriplegic in an accident on the ice during

his first college game. His rehabilitation process included the establishment of the

Travis Roy Foundation, which is dedicated to research and providing adaptive equipment

to individuals with spinal cord injuries.

A complete list of memoirs and resource books available for loan can be found on the

association’s website, scspinalcord.org, under the Living Life to the Fullest tab.