Paralyzed Veterans of America will celebrate their 66th anniversary this April with Paralyzed Veterans Awareness Month. The veteran support organization explains that they will be marking their founding by “encouraging all Americans to take a stand and commit to helping veterans as part of their life’s mission.” Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded by a… Read More
Non-Profit Provides Monkey Helpers for Disabled Individuals
At first it sounds like the plotline to the newest family movie: injured patient receives exotic pet, friends and family express doubt, film ends with both the patient and the pet living fuller, richer lives. However, for over 150 people in the U.S. over the last 30 years, this is no story. Helping Hands: Monkey… Read More
Amnesia Patient Gives Other TBI Patients Hope With Award-Winning Memoir
Talented artist and children’s book author, Mira Bartok, was a passenger in a stopped car when a tractor trailer ran into her vehicle. That collision caused microscopic bleeding in her brain, leading to the traumatic brain injury (TBI) that left her with memory loss (amnesia). The National Institutes of Health explains that memory loss can… Read More
Partially Paralyzed Triathlete Can Compete Again Thanks to Electronic Medical Device
The Arizona news source, Azfamily.com, reports on an Arizona State University triathlete who uses a small electronic device to continue competing in the sport she loves, despite her partial paralysis. In 2008, Allysa Seely became ill and was eventually diagnosed with chiari malformation and basilar invagination. These developmental anomalies led to the incorrect formation of… Read More
What Barriers Wait Ahead for Technology that Lets Paraplegics Move Upright, Walk?
Ekso Bionics is one of several cutting-edge companies offering paraplegics the chance to walk again. The Berkeley, California-based business produces the Ekso, a motorized exoskeleton that allows patients to walk in an upright position with the help of a pair of crutches. At this point, the company has sold its initial offering to rehabilitation centers… Read More
Major Research Contribution, New Technology Giving Brain Injury Patients Hope
The Allen Institute for Brain Science announced yesterday that Paul Allen would commit $300 million to their medical research nonprofit over the next ten years. The press release explains that this additional commitment has “charged the Institute with tackling some of the most fundamental and complex questions in brain science today.” The press release explains this… Read More