Mommy Blogger Opens Up
“Dreams really do come true” should be the real title of Priscilla Hedlin’s blog. Hedlin — “The Wheelchair Mommy Blogger” — an  L1-2 para from Austin, Texas, has been blogging for over 12 years. Her blog began as a website, but the way she openly shares her life as a mom on wheels has been consistent the entire time, and the disability community is richer because of it.

Through her writing, Hedlin, now 33, shares the intimate aspects of being married and a mother to three sons. After being injured as a passenger in a car accident in 1999 at the age of 17, she had just one question for the doctors: “Will I still be able to have children?”

Motherhood was a dream she had had since she was a little girl, and she was elated she could still be a mother. But at first she denied the permanency of her situation. “I remember buying a very short, sassy dress, knowing it looked terrible on me in the chair but confident I would be standing and walking within a year or two, and I would rock it then.” Once she realized her injury was likely not going to get better, she decided to take the positive road.

“Why be miserable with something I can’t change when I can be happy with the hand that life dealt me?” — this was her new mantra, and off she went to live her life as a woman with paralysis. Now uncannily enough, she’s also a wheelchair style blogger (her other blog: www.stylishgimp.com).

Hedlin had her first son in 2004, her second in 2008 and her third in 2010, and everything from her birth stories to life as a homemaker can be viewed on her blog. Check it out — www.wheelchairmommy.com

Mountain Adventure Time
You may have seen a push-lever-powered outdoor wheelchair similar to this before, but this design is U.K. all the way, and it was tested by injured British vets. The Mountain Trike is a brilliant mountain bike-inspired wheelchair that stands out among other off-road chairs for its lone back wheel, as well as one of its greatest effects — you never have to get your hands dirty.

The levers have two purposes: First, they make it easier to propel yourself through difficult terrain by changing which muscles you use to push, and second, the levers are far away from the wheels — unlike push rims — keeping your hands as clean as if you were using a joystick.

The Mountain Trike is also incredibly narrow at 29 inches wide, has air suspension and hydraulic disc brakes, and it’s perfect for outdoor festivals, mud, snow, gravel, hills and forest paths. The cost is $7,695 (includes delivery) from Spokes ‘n Motion: www.spokesnmotion.com.

The Anywhere Charger Mat
Quads with an iPhone 5S/5, iPhone 4S/4 or a Samsung have access to one of the coolest charging ideas to ever come around for phones — the Duracell PowerMat. The incredible device will charge your phone by just setting it on the mat, no fiddling with cords required. Cost: $39.99. Go to www.duracellpowermat.com