May Meeting and More...

Hello Everyone,

Our next meeting will be:

Sunday May 1, 2011
1:00 pm at
Gelsosomo's Pizza
2605 LaPorte Ave
Valparaiso IN
477-4255
map | driving directions

*Please RSVP for the meeting. Hope to see you there!

A few of us attended a wheelchair tennis clinic at Turnstone Center in Forte Wayne, Indiana on Saturday, April 16, 2011. The pictures can be found here.

Other dates to keep in mind are:

Saturday, May 15 -
Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation
Day at the Races
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis, IN
http://www.samschmidt.org/events

June 4 -
Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program
Annual Open House & Lunch
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Christening of 2.4 meter GUST
http://www.juddgoldmansailing.org/event_calendar.html


Other News:

Unite 2 Fight Paralysis has videos from Working 2 Walk 2010, a science symposium where scientists working on curing paralysis meet with 200 patient advocates and their families. http://www.vimeo.com/u2fp

ADA Compliance - If you are ever in doubt of whether a concert venue of stadium is operating under the ADA her is the resource to check. http://www.ada.gov/stdspdf.htm

Kim's friend's band is playing at the Michigan City American Legion on Saturday if anyone is interested in going. They are interested in doing a benefit concert for our group, so it might be nice to check them out and give them a little support before they head out on tour this summer.

Wheelchair Tennis Clinic

The Turnstone Center and Wildwood Raquet Club hosted a wheelchair tennis clinic on April 16, 2011. It was a good time, with a pretty good turn out for the morning session. About half the people continued on to the afternoon session.

Check In 10:00am - 10:30am
Opening Session at Turnstone 10:30am - 12:30pm
Lunch at Turnstone at 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Afternoon Session at Wildwood Racquet Club at 2:00pm - 4:00pm

My daughter went with me and got to experience tennis from a sports chair and standing. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and wouldn't mind having a sports chair of my own so that I could play tennis locally... because the chair does make that much of a difference.

On the Ice At the United Center

On March 26, 2011, two members of the NWI SCI Group played in an exhibition sled hockey game with the RIC Blackhawks before the Blackhawks faced off against the Ducks. Here are some pictures. Congratulations Gary and Paul!

A Thank You from the Lab of Dr. Hans Kierstead

In December of 2010, the Northwest Indiana Spinal Cord Injury Group donated $2000 to the University of California-Irvine to help fund the research of Dr. Hans Kierstead. We got this thank you card in the mail in the beginning of March.

March Meeting - date change and more...

Hello Everyone,

The date of our next meeting has been changed to:

Saturday, March 5, 2011
1:00 pm at
Gelsosomo's Pizza
2605 LaPorte Ave
Valparaiso IN
477-4255
map | driving directions

*Please RSVP for the meeting. Hope to see you there!

The date of our March meeting has been moved due to the fact that three members of the Northwest Indiana Spinal Cord Injury Group have started playing sled hockey with the RIC Blackhawks and there is a scrimmage scheduled for the RIC Blackhawks to play GLASA’s Falcons sled hockey team on Sunday, March 6^th and March 13^th from 3:15pm – 5:30pm at the Hot Shot rink in Lake Bluff, IL.

Gary and Paul have been going to practices for a while now and I just started. If you are free and interested in supporting the fellow NWI members in their Sled Hockey endeavors, please feel free to ask one of us for more information.

To learn more about RIC Blackhawk Sled Hockey...


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*Hopefully those members who took part in the adaptive ski trips with Adaptive Adventures will be in attendance to regale us with their tails of adventure, as well.
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A message from Kim...

My friend Drew and his band This Last Dance are having a FREE show in Michigan City and he wants us to attend!

March 3rd, 10pm
Ryan's Irish Pub
401 Franklin St
Michigan City, IN

It's a pretty open bar, but if we need to, Drew said that we can sit to the side where they will be. They want to do fundraisers for us so this is a great way to find out what their music sounds like. I think they're awesome! Hope to see you all there!

February Meeting

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you have all made it through the Blizzard of 2011 and have gotten yourselves dug out by now. This is just a reminder that the February meeting of the Northwest Indiana Spinal Cord Injury Group will be:

Sunday, February 6, 2011
1:00 pm at
Gelsosomo's Pizza
2605 LaPorte Ave
Valparaiso IN
477-4255
map | driving directions

Bring your Valentine out for some pizza...
Please RSVP if possible... Hope to see you there!

Adaptive Snow Skiing

Hello Everyone,

On January 18th, 2011 three members of the Northwest Indiana Spinal Cord Injury Group participated in the Adaptive Ski and Ride Program at Wilmot Mountain. The pictures can be found here.

Anyone interested in participating in future skiing outings please read the email below and contact Diana Helt (dhelt@ric.org) and Angela Allen (angela@adaptiveadventures.org ). Let me know if you get scheduled, because the NWI SCI Group would like to pay for your lift ticket to help facilitate your adaptive skiing experience.



My Skiing Experience...

I had never been skiing before this trip, and I was definitely nervous going into it. The organizers and the volunteers really instill confidence though and make you feel as comfortable as possible. We started out getting basic instruction on the equipment and getting fitted into our skis in the warmth of the lodge. Once secure, we headed just outside the door to get back into the skis on the snow. That's where you get more instruction on turning, stopping, and getting on the lift. Turning the mono-ski was surprisingly easy. After getting acquainted with the skis, Joel said our group looked balanced, stable, comfortable, and confident... and if we felt that way we should start skiing. We skipped the "bunny hill" and went straight to the ski lift to hit the slopes. They stop the lift to help you get on the lift chair with your instructor/volunteer and may or may not stop at the top to let you off. You are on the seat, in your ski, and clipped to the lift the whole way up. Once you're on top, it's time to go down the hill. It was an amazing experience! I couldn't even tell that my instructor was right behind me holding on to the straps the whole way down the first couple of times.We probably got to take 4 or 5 runs before it was time to go. I have to say that it was one of the more exciting, exhilarating, and awesomely terrifying experiences I've had in a long time. I will go again!

If anyone else cares to write about their skiing or any other experience I would love to post it on this blogsite.

Joe White