Circa 2005 On a spring afternoon 17 years ago, David Jayne was seated on an examination table as his neurologist began to speak: “You have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS. You might have heard it referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.” As Jayne experienced increasing paralysis, his dependence on others increased. “I have hired many ... Read more
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Loni Anderson Issue
ABILITY House — Behind The Scenes Of A Smart Home
Circa 2005 When I was seventeen, my friends were playing with a gun they didn’t know was loaded. The gun went off and the bullet hit me in the neck, paralyzing me from the neck down,” explains Derrick Daniels, the owner of the first ABILITY House to be built with smarthome technology. “The doctors ... Read more
Nursing School — Students With Mulitple Disabilities
Circa 2005 Colleen has a back injury resulting from two car accidents. She has limited range of motion in her neck, limited ability to turn and bend, and a weight-lifting restriction. At times, she must use a walker or a wheelchair. She has 70 percent hearing loss in her left ear and 30 percent ... Read more
Laughing Matters — 6th Annual Comedy Showcase
Circa 2005 So a burn survivor, a blind man and an amputee walk into this bar…” Actually, it was the Hollywood IMPROV, and comedians Reginald Pope, Michael Lee and Damienne Merlina were joined by an assortment of other comics for the sixth annual Norman G. Brooks Standup Comedy Showcase. Sponsored by Fern Field, coexecutive ... Read more
Ada Update — 15 Years And Counting
Circa 2005 Linda Crossman took a deep breath. The full-time ADA coordinator for Vacaville, California was finally able to rest. The small city of Vacaville, which takes up just 27 square miles of land between San Francisco and Sacramento, had planned a full month of activities in celebration of the liberties the Americans with ... Read more
COPD — What Smoking is Really Doing to Your Lungs
Circa 2005 I recently visited a friend in her high-rise office in New York City. She asked me to take a walk and then led me up a flight of stairs to the roof to show me the view of the Hudson River. One part of the roof had been taken over by smokers ... Read more
Loni Anderson — Smart, Sexy And Speaking Out
Circa 2005 Loni Anderson eases off the throttle, allowing her to fall several hundred yards behind the caravan of outdoor explorers, a group that includes her teenage son Quinton. Just as the line of snowmobiles is about to disappear from sight, she guns her machine and flies across the snow—a momentary indulgence of her ... Read more
Tuberous Sclerosis — Disease With A Million Faces
Circa 2005 Judy Edwards glanced at her baby, seated in a highchair next to her at the table. He wasn’t crying— surprising, given his slight fever when she picked him up from daycare. The 15-month-old was pleasantly quiet, just chewing on a piece of pepperoni. Her only child, Drew was generally a happy baby. ... Read more
Front Of The Class — Book Excerpt
Circ a 2005 When Brad Cohen began compulsively clearing his throat at age nine, his camp counselor gave him the nickname Froggy. When he progressed to a loud whoop or bark several times a minute, he was no longer viewed so affectionately. It would be several years before Cohen discovered he had Tourette syndrome, ... Read more
Paralympic Military — Sport As Rehabilitation
Circa 2005 Who am I now? What do I do with my life? How do I become employed? How do I provide for my family? What will they think of me? A veteran of the Gulf War and former Olympic and Paralympic athlete, John Register saw those questions flash across the faces of soldiers ... Read more
Headlines — Ibot, Drug Therapy And Hurricane Aftermath
Circa 2005 DRUG THERAPY NEW DNA TEST IMPROVES RESULTS Through most of medical history, doctors have had to determine the correct dose of medication for an individual patient by trial and error. Because of genetic differences in the level of enzymes that activate and break down medications in the body, some patients need very ... Read more
Senator Harkin — Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Circa 2005 EXPAND STEM CELL RESEARCH—NOW! Dear ABILITY Readers, This is an exciting time for millions of Americans who have juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s and other diseases and disabilities. They have new hope for treatment—and perhaps a cure—thanks to embryonic stem cell research. Last spring, the House of Representatives passed a bill— ... Read more
Humor — Cell Mates
Circa 2005 I was sitting in my car, stuck in traffic— not an uncommon circumstance in the land of smog and sunshine. I glanced over to the car in the next lane. There was a middle-aged woman at the wheel. Beside her in the front passenger seat was a teenage girl, presumably her daughter. ... Read more
Letter From The Editor — Rebuild With Accessibility
Circa 2005 Dear Readers, When President Bush pledged an estimated $200 billion in federal aid to rebuild the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, he also pledged that the reconstruction plan would “clear away the legacy of inequality.” In forecasting what he called one of the largest reconstruction projects the world has ever seen, the president recognized ... Read more
