Spotlight: Jessica Fernandez

Jessica Fernandez, 27, is graduating from the University of Central Florida's College of Medicine next week. She is about to become a member of a small group: Approximately two percent of practicing doctors have a disability. Originally from Venezuela, Fernandez was born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder that affects bone growth, making her shorter than average. She uses an electric wheelchair when she works in the hospital due to hip and back pain. Last summer, Fernandez underwent surgery in Delaware to stabilize her cervical spine. She spent her recovery time studying for her board exams.

In the spring of 2017, Fernandez spoke at the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science and Medical Education Symposium at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She talked about the importance of empathy and compassion while practicing medicine. An inspiration to her classmates and professors, Fernandez has not let her disability stop her from becoming a doctor. After graduation, she plans to enter a residency program, specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation. For more details on this story from the Spring 2018 issue of Pegasus Magazine, go to https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/healing-through-understanding/.

The University of Central Florida's logo

(image from Wikipedia)

Spotlight: Rising Tide Car Wash

John D'Eri and his son Tom founded Rising Tide Car Wash in April 2013 so that Tom's brother Andrew, who has autism, would have a place to work. All Rising Tide employees, who are on the autism spectrum, completed 25 hours of training through SONNY's CarWash College. The company also has operations and management internship and leadership programs and an online course for business owners who want to hire people with autism. The recipient of several awards, Rising Tide has been featured in newspapers, magazines, and a Facebook video. Rising Tide has two locations in south Florida: Parkland and Margate. For more information, go to http://risingtidecarwash.com/.

Rising Tide Car Wash logo

(image from forumfornonprofits.org)

Spotlight: No Label at the Table

In honor of National Autism Awareness Month and World Autism Day, today's post is about a gluten-free/dairy-free bakery at which young adults on the autism spectrum work. Shelly Henley, who has a 20-year-old son with autism, founded the No Label at the Table Food Company, which opened in Carmel, Indiana, last month. A couple of years ago, Henley's son expressed interest in being a chef at a restaurant. Aware there are relatively few job opportunities for people with autism, Henley decided to start a business where they can receive job skills training. No Label at the Table was featured in the February issue of the magazine Woman's Day. If you don't live near Carmel, you can order the company's baked goods at their website https://nolabelatthetable.com/.

No Label at the Table logo

(image from nolabelatthetable.com)

Apple Submits Proposal for Disability-Themed Emojis

Apple recently sent a proposal of emojis for people with disabilities to the Unicode Consortium. (Emojis are small images of objects such as faces, animals, etc.) The four types of disability-themed emojis being proposed are blind and low vision, deaf and hard of hearing, physical and motor skills, and hidden disabilities. Apple had input from organizations like the American Council of the Blind and the National Association of the Deaf. Individuals with disabilities are happy to be represented and have a more inclusive online experience. My favorite emoji is the girl in the wheelchair. If the proposal is approved, the emojis will be available on the iPhone next year. For more details on this story, go to https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/apple-proposes-new-emojis-for-people-with-disabilities/ar-BBKHQ2j.

Some of the proposed disability emojis

(obtained from money.cnn.com)

A Tribute to Stephen Hawking

My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn't prevent you doing well, and don't regret the things it interferes with. Don't be disabled in spirit as well as physically.

The above is a quote from the late theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking. A week ago, Hawking died at age 76 in Cambridge, England, from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or "Lou Gehrig's disease," a form of motor neurone disease. ALS progressively weakens muscles and impairs physical function. Born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England, Hawking was diagnosed with ALS shortly after his 21st birthday and was expected to live only two more years. He eventually lost his abilities to walk and talk, so he used a wheelchair and a computerized voice system.

However, Hawking earned his cosmology doctorate at the University of Cambridge in 1965 before embarking on an impressive career in professing and research, most notably his work on black holes and relativity. He received 13 honorary degrees, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Fundamental Physics prize, among many other awards. He wrote or co-wrote 15 books, including his bestseller A Brief History of Time. One of the best days of Hawking's life was in 2007 when he experienced weightlessness during a two-hour flight on a modified Boeing 727 over the Atlantic Ocean after visiting the Kennedy Space Center.

Stephen Hawking is a prime example of an individual who didn't let his disabilities stop him from pursuing his passion. He is survived by three adult children and three grandchildren. His ashes will be buried in Westminster Abbey in London later this year. For more information about Hawking, go to http://www.hawking.org.uk/.

Stephen Hawking

(image from Flickr)

2018 Winter Paralympic Games

Last Friday, the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games (https://www.paralympic.org/) began with an impressive opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea. At the largest Winter Paralympics ever, 567 athletes with physical disabilities from 48 countries and a neutral Paralympic athletes team composed of Russians are competing in six sports: alpine and cross-country skiing, biathlon, para ice hockey, snowboard, and wheelchair curling. So far, the United States (the nation most represented with 68 athletes) is leading in medals. The Winter Paralympic Games will continue until March 18. To find out when the Paralympics will be shown on TV or online, go to https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/2018-winter-paralympics-live-stream-schedule.

Image from Wikimedia

Spotlight: Mike Schultz

Mike Schultz of St. Cloud, Minnesota, is a snowboarder who suffered a compound fracture of his left knee after veering off course and flying off his snowmobile during a snocross race ten years ago. After several surgeries, his leg was amputated above the knee. Wanting to continue playing action sports, Schultz created his own prosthetic knee, the Moto Knee, which consists of a mountain bike shock and a linkage system for which he has a patent. He then won a motocross adaptive silver medal at the X Games and began snowboarding. Schultz founded BioDapt, Inc., a sports prosthetic company for extreme sports athletes, in 2010. In the same year, he became the first person to win gold medals at the X Games and Winter X Games; he was also inducted into the Athletes with Disabilities Network Hall of Fame in the United States. Schultz will compete at the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next week. His fellow snowboarders use the Moto Knee as well as the Versa Foot. Schultz is married with one daughter. To learn more about him, go to https://www.teamusa.org/para-snowboarding/athletes/Mike-Schultz.

Mike Schultz

(image from Zimbio)