Sundance Channel Reality Show Shines Light on Living With Paraplegia
A new reality program on the Sundance Channel, "Push Girls," looks at the lives of four women who use wheelchairs and sheds light on everyday challenges of disabilities involving mobility.
August 22, 2012
Living with disabilities such as spinal injuries, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and other conditions that affect mobility means constant challenges to leading a "normal" life. American popular culture tends to push these images aside, despite the fact that millions of us face disabling pain or mobility problems every day.A new reality program on the Sundance Channel, "Push Girls," looks at the lives of four women who use wheelchairs for various reasons. The cast includes:
- Tiphany Adams, who suffered a spinal injury in an accident caused by a drunk driver
- Auti Angel, who was paralyzed from the waist down in an auto accident
- Angela Rockwood, who survived a car crash as a quadriplegic, and now is active in organizations that advocate for disabled people
- Mia Schaikewitz, who suffered a rupture of an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) in her spinal cord at age 15 that left her paralyzed below the waist
- Chelsie Hill, a spinal injury victim who has started a foundation to assist other people who have suffered spinal cord injuries
Early episodes of Push Girls have received strong reviews for exploring the challenges of wheelchair mobility and public access, while also allowing equal time for the trials and tribulations of the women's personal lives. One reviewer noted that she could not recall ever seeing two people onscreen in wheelchairs talking about their disabilities.
Disability advocates, including the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, have supported the show's message about the everyday effects of spinal cord injuries. The Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by raising funds for research, has partnered with the Sundance Channel to raise awareness about the lives of people who live with paralysis.
Serving the Needs of People Who Cannot Work Due to a Disability
Understanding and documenting the effects of a qualifying impairment on a client is the foremost role of a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) attorney. Many disabling conditions that limit mobility are not subject to the same clear diagnosis as paralysis. A disability benefits lawyer can help a person compile proof of the extent of his or her limits and all other aspects of the SSDI process.
Article provided by Hoglund, Chwialkowski & Mrozik, PLLC
Visit us at www.ohiosocialsecuritydisability.com