Shortly after high school graduation, Jeff was in a car wreck that left him a T6 paraplegic. A year after his accident, he enrolled at Bowling Green State University. At that time, there had never been a person in a wheelchair on that campus. Jeff recalls being a 19-year-old still trying to figure out what had happened to his life. He transferred to Ohio State the following year and after a few years of figuring things out, he completed both an undergrad and graduate degree focused on social work, political science, and grassroots organization.

After college, Jeff spent five years working in a men’s homeless shelter. This is when he first heard of Spinlife - the company where he would happily work for the next 20 years.

Jeff began working at Spinlife in December of 2000 when it was just the beginning. “A friend of mine told me he knew the owner, thought the company had great potential, there was an open sales position and another mutual friend of ours was currently as the other salesman. I was working as a supervisor for a men’s homeless shelter but was looking to find something different and the entire concept of Spinlife intrigued me, so I applied for the job.”

In his role of Product Specialist, Jeff said his favorite aspect of his job is the return customer. “I enjoy hearing their feedback on previous equipment purchases – how well they worked and what changes may make them perform better. I especially enjoy how their life has progressed since our last contact and what adventures are soon to come. Many of the return customers are like old friends. The most meaningful customers are those who have a new Spinal Cord Injury and need some life questions answered. They are genuinely happy to be able to talk to someone who is paralyzed and can share life experiences with them. The whole family becomes involved in the purchase as well as the discussion. I always feel like I made a very real and helpful connection with those customers.”

In June, Numotion acquired Spinlife.com, the market leader in online retail Durable Medical Equipment (DME) for the aging population as well as people living with disabilities. Jeff believes that with this union, Numotion can lead customers to Spinlife who may not have any knowledge of them. “Numotion’s credibility with person-to-person customers should help quell fears or concerns some customers may have with purchasing via the internet and the partnership should help motivate manufacturers to continue their progress in the development of new and better equipment.”
If you would like to view products Spinlife has available or speak to a knowledgeable representative like Jeff go to spinlife.com. 

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Karen

Nicole B. LaBerge, PT ATP is a Physical Therapist with 15+ years of experience working in a variety of clinical settings. She currently works at Hennepin Healthcare's Clinic and Specialty Center, which is part of the Level I Trauma Center in Minneapolis, MN. Her practice includes seating and mobility for adult and pediatric populations, with a focus in neurological rehabilitation and wound care. Nicole has presented at the State and International Levels, has had her personal research published and enjoys sharing her passion for patient advocacy, clinical outcomes and efficiency within a clinical setting. Karen and Nicole discuss the importance of standing for people with disabilities. We discuss what the data says about standing. We also talk about the functional and medical benefits of standing for wheelchair users.  Standing has kept Karen healthy as a wheelchair user for 34 years and Nicole's patient's have experienced the same benefits using standing technology.

In this episode Barb Zablotney tells us about her experience as the first Torrid model with a disability. Barb explains how she helped the Torrid staff in Los Angeles understand what she needed for the set to be accessible. Barb also talks about how able bodied people at times don't understand what inclusion means and how important it is. We also talk about barriers to disability inclusion in the modeling industry. You can find Barb's informative disability content  on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tic Tok @therollingrainbow.

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Karen

Katherine Klimitas was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has been a Numotion customer since she was a child. Katherine’s ATP is Butley Mahler out of the Baton Rouge Numotion Branch. Artist, speaker, author, graphic designer, and just a few of Katherine’s titles as an adult. Katherine was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, better known as Brittle Bone Disease. A power wheelchair is her means of mobility. Don’t let her 2 feet, 7 inches tall stature fool you; she is a total powerhouse. By the age of 10 years old, she had already had broken 500+ bones, and she had never let any of her health issues slow her down. 

Katherine and her parents were not going to let her disease dictate her happiness in life. The Klimitas family is very close, and Katherine's parents would make sure that she found a vocation she enjoyed. Both of Katherine’s parents were veterinarians and worked hard but loved their chosen profession and would accept nothing less for their daughter despite the limitations caused by her disability.

During Katherine’s senior year at Loyola, she started KAK Art & Designs. TheThe services offered at KAK Art & Design have changed since 2011 but still focus on two key areas: 1) expanding her reach and capabilities as a watercolor artist and 2) motivating others to contribute to their communities. Katherine continues to exceed her goal, which is to bring people joy with her work. She was recently featured on Nola.com and Adobe! You can find Katherine's beautiful artwork on her kakartnola.com, and her social media handle is also kakartnola

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Karen

Caitlin Chasar is a thirty year old woman living with spina bifida.  She was selected as the 2022 Ms. Wheelchair Pennsylvania Titleholder.  Her platform is advocating for accessible recreation centers. Caitlin has been involved in wheelchair sports from the age of ten. She was recruited to play intercollegiate wheelchair basketball and helped start the first women’s wheelchair basketball team at Edinboro University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in Communications in 2013 and then earned a Master’s in Clinical Rehabilitation in 2017. Caitlin currently serves as the Executive Director of Bucks County Center for Independent Living. She considers herself to be a disability rights advocate. Caitlin is a member of Magee Rehabilitation 76ers Wheelchair Basketball team and loves participating in a variety of adaptive sports. We discuss hKate's disability, her advocacy passions, and how she became Ms. Wheelchair Pennsylvania 2022.

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Karen

Erika Bogan is a motivator, disability advocate, adaptive athlete & lover of life, who has dedicated her life to showing people how to find their “new normal” after major life transitions, through sharing her remarkable story of choosing a limitless mindset after becoming paralyzed by domestic violence at the age of 21. She also is an adaptive CrossFit athlete and Spartan Racer, that continues to change people’s perceptions about abilities by showing others how to live limitless!
 
 In August 2009, Erika won the title of Ms. Wheelchair America 2010. Throughout her year as the national title holder, she also starred for a full-feature length documentary, Defining Beauty, documenting her life and her journey to becoming Ms. Wheelchair America. She has spoken at the National Press Club, on behalf of the National Disability Institute, the North Carolina Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill, and is contracted with the University of Saint Augustine for Health Sciences, where she speaks each semester to first & second year physical and occupational therapy students.
 
 Erika is also a Certified Master Mindset Coach and recognized disability advocate. She shares her personal experiences of how she was able to overcome traumatic experiences, by changing her response to difficult things she has faced throughout her life and her personal struggles with CPTSD and suicide ideation, in hopes of creating change to the negative stigma attached to Mental Health. Erika specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Techniques and Emotional Intelligence as a coach. 

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Karen

Travis Davis was born with Cerebral Palsy and he explains how his diagnosis impacts him. Travis's experience is varied and includes teaching, marketing, speaking, event planning, writing, and work in the non-profit sector. Speaking about disability in various spheres including education, churches, sports, business, and relationships is part of Travis's passions. Travis did a TedX Talk about Education and Inclusion that has been viewed over 35 thousand times. Currently Travis is the host of a disability related podcast called "Off the Crutch Podcast". Travis and I discuss how opening up dialog with school aged children is one of the keys to disability inclusion in adulthood.

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Karen

In this episode, Karen speaks to Jeff Cosentino, an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) with Numotion in south Louisiana, and Blair Casey, the Chief Impact Officer for Team Gleason, about Numotion’s new 5-year partnership with Team Gleason to be their Preferred CRT (Complex Rehab Technology) Partner. Team Gleason is Steve Gleason's charitable foundation. Steve Gleason played football for the New Orleans Saints and blocked a punt in the first home game following Hurricane Katrina in 2006. Steve's blocked punt led to a Saints victory, which lifted people's spirits across New Orleans.

In 2011, Steve revealed that he had been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).  Steve started recording videos for his unborn son, Rivers, from the beginning of his diagnosis, and this eventually became a documentary called Gleason, which you can find on Amazon.

Jeff is the ATP that helped Steve with his first wheelchair. Blair Casey was Steve's caregiver at that time, and this is where the relationship between Jeff, Steve, and Blair began.  Numotion and Team Gleason have collaborated for years, leading to Jeff Cosentino coming up with the idea for Numotion's ALS Council. The ALS Council is a group of ATP's and other Numotion employees who work on sharing information about the latest technologies being developed for customers living with ALS.

 This ALS council at Numotion led to the strategic 5-year partnership with Team Gleason to improve access and development of advanced equipment and technology to serve people and families living with ALS. Team Gleason provides critical equipment, technology, and life adventures for people living with ALS in the United States.

As the Preferred CRT provider of Team Gleason, Numotion will work to provide technology services and solutions that ensure those with ALS continue living productive, purposeful and meaningful lives. Jeff and Blair explain some of the details of this partnership and throw in some humor as well.

Here are the links discussed in the podcast:
Gleason Documentary

A Football Life: Steve Gleason

Team Gleason Assistive Technology Lab

Gleason DocumentaryGleason NFL Films Machu Picchu (YouTube) Full Video

Team Gleason/ Duck Dynasty Adventure 

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Karen

Ryan Martin was born wit Spina Bifida and both of his legs were amputated due to complications with his diagnosis. Ryan found a way to succeed in wheelchair basketball and that lead to him traveling the world playing wheelchair basketball. Wheelchair basketball played an important role in Ryan's life and he wanted to give back to kids with disabilities which lead to him starting a non-profit, The Ryan Martin Foundation.  Ryan is also the inclusive Sports Advisor for CUNY (City University of New York) Athletics. Numotion and CUNY have created a partnership that Ryan discusses during the podcast.  It's a fun conversation, so check it out! 

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Karen

Are you afraid to become a parent because of your disability? Have people made negative comments about you parenting with a disability? Some people made negative comments to me about having babies because I am paralyzed. In this podcast I interview my 24 year old middle child, Austin Roy, who talks about his child about his experience being raised by a wheelchair user. Austin explains his unique perspective on disability because he sees disability as a part of the human experience. Learn some of the techniques I used as a wheelchair user parenting small children.

Thank for Listening! Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @LifePossibleKR. Here is my Linktree!
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If you are enjoying the content or have feedback send me a message. I would love to hear from you!
Karen