Last week 180 Medical participated in the Spina Bifida Association of Northeastern New York's Second Regional SBANENY Conference entitled "Expanding Your Horizons through Healthy Living" in Albany, New York. This conference gave adults, teenagers, and professionals an opportunity to learn about new and different opportunities available for them and their loved ones for healthy living including exercises, nutritional information, urology, and much more. Vendors and service providers were also available at the event for the attendees to talk to.

The keynote address "Healthy Living with Spina Bifida" by Dr. Dorothy Nary. Dr. Nary is a research associate at the Research and Training Center on Independent Living. Her research focused on health and independent living issues of people with disabilities. 

Other sessions included:

• Neurosurgical Updates for Individuals Living with Spina Bifida by Dr. Matthew Adamo
• Promoting Inclusion for Children with SB: Strategies for Parents & Caregivers by Evelyn Loeb, LCSW-R
• Fitness Training for Individuals with Spina Bifida by Ned Norton
• Urological Care for Children by Karla Giramonti, MS FNP
• Managing Your Medical Life by Dr. Dorothy Nary & Barb Devore
• Adaptive Self Defense by Tim Lee
• Nutritional Information for Individuals with Spina Bifida by Linda Crowley, MS, RD, CDN
• Yoga Fun for Kids Ages 5 to 12 & Their Parents by Noreen Santa Maria
• Recreation Opportunities for Teens & Adults: Camping by Don White, Sled Hockey by Bryan Darby, Tennis by Eva Galvin, Kayaking by Barbara Devore, and Sailing by Y-Knott

The Spina Bifida Association of Northeastern New York is an active chapter of the Spina Bifida Association holding many events each year including picnics, Walk-N-Rolls, retreats, and promoting the wonderful opportunities the national association is making available.

180 Medical is a proud sponsor of many spina bifida events across the country. We will be participating at the National Spina Bifida Conference in Indianapolis, IN in June so if you are attending be sure to stop by our booth!
     

We are very excited to provide three $1,000 scholarships to students with spina bifida, spinal cord injuries, or transverse myelitis. The college scholarship is available to high school seniors or those currently in college that are planning to attend at least 12 credit hours at a two-year or four-year college in the U.S. in the Fall. The deadline is June 1, 2012. 

The founder of 180 Medical, Todd Brown, has had his share of the difficulties that disabilities present. When he was paralyzed from the chest down, one of Brown's biggest challenges was the near-constant UTIs. His victory resides in not only being able to eliminate most infections and live a healthier life, but in creating a company that provides people like him with the same options. This scholarship takes that goal even further. With this scholarship, those optimistic students that prove they are dedicated to furthering their education and enthusiastic about making a positive impact on the world can be given a reward that will help them to achieve their dreams.

Visit www.180medical.com/scholarships for application instructions and up-to-date scholarship information.
       

Winter Bifida is a wonderful event put on each winter by the Spina Bifida Association of San Diego (SBSD). I had the great pleasure to speak at this years Winter Bifida this past Sunday, December 11th. The event was held at Balboa Park in San Diego, California and there were about 200 people that attended including those with Spina Bifida and their families. The event featured a lot of fun activities for children including face painting, arts and crafts and they even had a few fun piñatas for the kids to take swings at. There was great food and you could tell from the smiles on the faces of the children that it was a very special event.    


Dr. Chiang, who helped start Winter Bifida three years ago is a Urologist at Rady's Children's Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at UCSD. I had the privilege of having dinner with Dr. Chiang and several other families that are on the board for the Spina Bifida Association of San Diego the Friday night before Winter Bifida got to hear wonderful stories about the positive impact this organization is having on the Spina Bifida community there in San Diego. I asked Dr. Chiang how he became involved with the the Spina Bifida group of San Diego and he jokingly told me that he didn't know it was an option. He then told me that he believed that the children he worked with that have Spina Bifida should have an event during the winter. That was the beginning just over 2 years ago and I was thankful to be part of the 3rd Annual Winter Bifida.   I shared some funny stories about first being injured and learning how to overcome new obstacles in my life. These obstacles included getting back into rock climbing and rappelling as well as going back to school and finishing my degrees. I also shared stories about first meeting Todd Brown and the positive way he has impacted my life and thousands of others that he has come in contact with.

I shared about how Todd helped me get into racing and competing in road races and then started 180 Medical to help people turn their lives around in a positive direction. I had about 100 photos of me rappelling and after I spoke the children came up and I was able to sign the photos for them and several families have emailed me already thanking me for being such an inspiration. That seems a little funny to me because I was the one who truly gained inspiration from getting to witness the courageous spirits of the children and their families.  Rob Roddy is a Rehab Specialist at 180 Medical. He travels the country speaking to groups, peer mentoring, and getting involved with adaptive sports. If your group is interested in having Rob speak at an event please contact info@180medical.com. Find him on Facebook: facebook.com/SCIConnection 

On October 27, 2011 180 Medical helped sponsor the 4th Annual Taste of Empowerment for Spina Bifida fundraiser benefiting the Spina Bifida Resource Network at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in New York, New York.  


The Spina Bifida Resource Network's mission is to empower the lives of people with spina bifida and promote the prevention of spina bifida through advocacy, education, collaboration, public awareness, research and programs. The Spina Bifida Resource Network offers direct family support and one of the nation's only organizations to provide nursing and case management.

This event was an opportunity to honor Dr. Kenneth Glassberg, M.D. and the Pediatric Urology Department of New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital for all their work with the spina bifida community. 

Everyone in attendance enjoyed gourmet food, wine, live jazz and a silent auction.

To find out more information about the Spina Bifida Resource Network visit their website at http://www.thesbrn.org/ or their Facebook page. 


Photo credit
 

Wendy on Wheels is a children's book series featuring a 10 year old girl, Wendy, who rolls through life in a wheelchair meeting friends and showing her abilities. The books follow her on her different adventures like going to the beach and the zoo, and even volunteering at a children's hospital (dressed in a superhero costume!).