Celebrating and Encouraging Independence on The 4th of July
Franklin Project participant Mike Jackson receiving FES arm therapy at Neuroworx
Happy 4th of July! We hope you're enjoying summer and in the spirit of this holiday, we'd like to recognize, celebrate, and encourage increasing independence for everyone living with a SCI.
Whether you're newly injured or have been living with your injury for a long time, there are many ways in which NorCal SCI can help and we'd like to take a moment to highlight four of our largest and most impactful programs and encourage you to apply!
If you've suffered your injury in the last 2 years, you may qualify for the incredible opportunity for 5 weeks of intensive rehabilitation at Neuroworx, in Salt Lake City, Utah. We recognize the many challenges of life post-SCI for the newly injured and our friends at Neuroworx have an outstanding facility and a dedicated and experienced staff who can help people realize their shorter-term objectives. Everyone who's participated so far has come back with rave reviews of their experience and how it's helped them continue their recovery.
This is what Rafael Rojas, who suffered a C4 incomplete injury, had to say about his recent time at Neuroworx:
"Thanks to NorCal SCI and this grant, my hope and my dream was to get in the walker and start walking, and Neuroworx made it happen. They gave me the tools and exercises that I'll be able to take home with me and keep doing my therapy."
Rafael Rojas doing weight-assisted sit-to-stands
After finishing his time at Neuroworx in April, Bevan Herbekian, who had a C7-T2 fusion due to a spinal tumor, said:
"Thank you all so much for giving me this opportunity. I really tried to get the absolute most out of my time here and I'm really happy with the gains that I've made. 5 weeks is both a long time to grind it out and short time when thinking of this sort of recovery and I'm surprised at the strength that I've built and the progress that I was able to make."
If you want to learn more about the Franklin Project and see if you qualify, check out more info here.
Another great opportunity for those who've been injured less than two years is the Neilsen Program. Participants take part in a 4-month program that includes intensive exercise and rehabilitation at a qualifying center in Northern California, online classes and content, educational materials, peer support, and much more.
This generous grant from the Craig T. Neilsen Foundation will expire later this year so if you're interested, don't waste any time! Learn more and apply here.
After finishing the Neilsen program in April, John Tarabanovic, who has a C3-C4 incomplete injury, shared that the program had been very helpful for him, and he was especially thankful for getting the opportunity to exercise at SCI-FIT in Petaluma.
John Tarabanovic exercising with the assistance of an E-Stim device at SCI-FIT
The purpose of the Road to Recovery program is to provide qualifying recipients with grants of up to $2000 to be used to improve their quality of life. The grants can be applied to the following four categories:
Home Modifications,
Mental Health Services
Specialized Durable Medical Equipment
Therapeutic Exercise/Therapy
The grants are designed to enable an individual to continue to pursue their recovery – no matter how long after their injury – and we prioritize recipients who don't have the financial resources to pursue their goals.
Vincent Clemons received a R2R grant to help him buy a much-needed manual wheelchair and shared this comment, "I want to thank you so very much. I received my chair today and I love it. Thank you once again."
Anyone living with an SCI is welcome to apply for these grants to help them in their continued journey for recovery, health, and overall quality of life. Find out more and apply here.
Smart Home Independence Package
The Smart Home Independence Package (SHIP) is designed to give the user an enhanced level of security and independence. January of 2021 marked the start of this initiative where NorCal SCI coordinated installing a SHIP, a customized range of Google Nest products, in a limited number of qualifying applicants’ homes free of charge.
So far in 2023, six individuals have already benefited from the program. Vandana of Antioch is now more independent being able to communicate with anyone at her front door and has the ability to lock and unlock the door from anywhere in her home.
Vandana using the Google Hub to control her smart devices
We will be opening the window again for applications shortly, look out for the announcement in our upcoming Newsletters.