SCI Life


Cory Wohlford
Cory Wohlford

Coach Cory
What does a born-and-bred athlete do when he finds himself a quadriplegic? When this happened to Cory Wohlford, a 200-pound, 6-foot-2-inch college football and baseball player at the time of his car accident, he was clueless. “Sports was a big part of my life growing up. It was something I loved to do,” says Wohlford, now 49. He was a championship Little Leaguer and the quarterback on his Plattesville, Mo., state champ high school football team in 1979.

As a C5-6 quad, Wohlford knew the sports he loved were now off limits. “At that time I wasn’t sure exactly what the future held,” he says. But soon he was back at William Jewell College, where he received a degree in physical education. During a student teaching experience, a huge opportunity fell on his lap. “When I did my student teaching at Smithville,” he says, “the head coach asked if I was interested in becoming an assistant coach. I wasn’t sure if I could, but I said yes.” Wohlford has been a coach for the last 25 years.

In the beginning, there was a definite learning curve. “I had to learn how to communicate better since I can’t show them what to do,” he says. And staying cool on the field was another concern. “The coaches and football players are great about helping me stay cool,” he says. “I need to get squirted down with cold water quite a bit.”

In the past 25 years, coaching has brought Wohlford a lot of great moments, but the ones he loves most have been with his senior players. “When I hear them tell me after the season how much they appreciate me being their coach, it makes me proud of what I’m doing.”

Read his biography: www.corybook.com

sciLife5132Safe Barefooting
Wheelchairs aren’t exactly the beacon of comfort, and that’s especially the case for footrests. But Ethan Ruby, a paraplegic from New York City known for his entrepreneurial spirit and pro-poker player skills, has created a smart — and incredibly comfortable — footplate add-on that works with any style of footrest, making it finally safe to go barefoot. It’s called Wheel Comfort and this awesome gadget gives you the extra padding you need on your footrest.

Made from waterproof closed-cell foam, Wheel Comfort adheres to any footplate using a sticky underside coating. Once it’s in place, every time you go barefoot you’ll notice better stability, better foot placement, less back pain and increased skin protection (since your feet are staying in place). And the prices aren’t that bad either, ranging from $55 to $65, depending on the size you need.

See www.wheelcomfort.com

A Community That Rolls Together …
… stays together. That’s the idea at least. Movement On Wheels is the only social network dedicated to wheelchair users, offering a safe place to share life stories and experiences. They also offer a “news feed” area where you can keep up-to-date on its users (see what they’re saying, what was recently uploaded, etc).

Go to www.movementonwheels.com


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