The 2011 Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Photo Contest

Do you have photos of the cool places you've traveled? How about portraits of the wonderful people you have met on your journey? We created a place for you to share them -- The 2011 Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Photo Contest. It starts today! The grand prize winner will receive two hours of photography instruction from award-winning professional photographer, Christopher Voelker, via telephone, Skype, or at his studio in Los Angeles in person (transportation not included).

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Get to know Bill

For Bill Cawley, (pictured with his family) life did not start or end with the accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. In fact, if you were to ask one of his closest friends how the accident changed him, he would reply, "Cawley has not changed; he just sits down a lot."

Since a 1992 diving accident that had left him paralyzed from the chest down, Cawley would agree that, his life has changed, but he hasn't.

At the age of 42, Cawley is a husband, father, successful businessman and a philanthropist (he works to raise money for the Reeve Foundation). However, at the age of 24, Cawley had no idea that he would eventually become all of these things; all he knew was that he was not going to let his condition stop him from trying to.

Get to know Bill!

Pat from Boise, ID is on the map!

Pat is C6/7 and his been living with paralysis for 7 1/2 years. See what he invented.
WATCH THE VIDEO!

You might need The Hooker

The Hooker

Once I mastered picking up flat objects I turned my attention to trying to create something that would allow me to pick up round or cylindrical shaped items. This is a great example of what I mean by keeping it simple and inexpensive. Again, it was a matter of trial, error and frustration. What I ended up with is simple and performs many different functions. All you need is a length of strong rope and an "S" hook. SEE PHOTOS AND VIDEO.

Dr. Dan: I am not afraid of dying; my greatest fear is not living

Dr. Dan Gottlieb

I have a dear friend whose husband had a brain aneurysm when they were married for three years. I met her 20 years later as she described a man who is fully functional physically but has unstable moods and is quick to tantrums. But the worst part of her marriage is the fact that he is not capable of empathy or generous love. When I met her, she told me she had made a conscious decision to stay in this marriage no matter what. So here she is 20 years later and she works 60 hours a week and spends her life racing around. It's almost as though she is trying to stay one step ahead of her pain. CAN YOU TURN TO FACE YOUR PAIN?

The above is from Dr. Dan's Healing the Mind and Heart section of the community. He is our resident family therapist. He answers questions live in the community every Tuesday. SHARE YOUR QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS TODAY.

Say "Hi" to Anu

Hi I am Anu...44 yrs old...we were in a car accident 17 yrs ago....where my husband who was 34 became a quad...c4-5...and my daughter who was 3 months old had a TBI.....she is now 17....luv of our life.....and have a 20 yr old son....we have come a long way....went thru a lot....my husband and my daughter used to take turns to go to the hospital initially....so for a couple of yrs we were kind of living in the hospitals.....i had to send my son to India with my parents so he doesn't get affected....he was there for 2 yrs....and then I wanted my family to be together so got him back. READ MORE ABOUT ANU.

Assistive Technology welcomes Suzanne Robitaille

Suzanne Robitaille

We have a new blogger in the Assistive Technology group -- Suzanne Robitaille. Suzanne is the author of The Illustrated Guide to Assistive Technology & Devices and the founder of abledbody.com. She is the former assistive technology columnist for BusinessWeek.com and continues to write on disability issues for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Ability Magazine and now for us! Her latest entry is about a universally designed bed lift.