Product Description

The 4th edition of Spinal Network: The Total Wheelchair Resource Book puts a contemporary spin on what has become known as the rehab bible. It includes new information on cure research and activity-based recovery, as well as the latest on adaptive technology, employment, health insurance and lifestyle options. Peppered with fresh profiles of successful wheelchair users, this 400-page guide also covers health, coping, relationships, sexuality, fertility, parenting, sports, recreation, travel, personal assistance services, disability rights, media images and much more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1006372 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-16
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• 400 pages

Review
"Awesomely complete ... should be kept within reach of all wheelchair users and their companions." -- Los Angeles Times

"Mindbendingly, breathtakingly comprehensive! I only wish there had been a resource like this when I was newly disabled." --John Callahan, syndicated cartoonist and quadriplegic

From the Author
Imagine a big, beautiful, comprehensive resource book for people with disabilities: That's what we did back in 1988 for the first edition of Spinal Network. It was published on a shoestring and a prayer--an exercise in faith, hope and deficit financing.

The second edition was launched on more tangible grounds, but we still didn't know the true depth of the need for resources, role models and community connection.

In this, our third edition, we think we've found our voice. It's the voice of disability past, present and future, not anything we invented. Informed by hundreds of accomplished wheelers sharing their thousands of years of disability experience, Spinal Network is your key to quality of life.

You'll find stories about health and sexuality; about travel, sports and recreation; about selecting gear and dealing with bureaucracies. You'll find medical and rehab topics strongly covered, as well as the attitudes and the street smarts for taking control of your life.

You'll find inside information from people who know.

A constant theme in this book is that the best coaches for living with a disability are those who have already done it. That's why we've included so many engaging people with so many different answers to so many different questions.

The line between a tough break and a satisfying life may be as simple as knowing the full range of options. Disability does force hard choices on us, but there's no reason we have to make them in ignorance.

We hope this book makes your choices easier. We know you'll find a wealth of information.

And, who knows, somewhere in these pages you might find yourself. You might find that Spinal Network is your ticket not only to living well with a disability, but to enjoying the ride. --Barry Corbet

From the Inside Flap
When the first edition of Spinal Network hit the streets in 1988, readers were amazed. Here was a book about disability that wasn't the least bit depressing. It had style, it had sizzle--it had life. It also had an incredible amount of practical information.

Now in its 3rd edition, Spinal Network: The Total Wheelchair Resource Book is widely recognized as the definitive handbook for living with a disability. "Upbeat and information-packed" according to Disability Resources Monthly, this is the book that the New York Times calls "Everyman's guide to life as a paraplegic."

And paraplegia is just the beginning. Spinal Network covers the waterfront of mobility disabilities, with specific health and lifestyle information, survivor profiles, articles and resources on every topic of interest to wheelchair users. In addition to plain talk about bladder and bowel concerns, skin care, dysreflexia, and other secondary health issues following paralysis, Spinal Network offers extensive information and advice on coping, relationships, sexuality, parenthood, computers, sports, recreation, travel, personal assistance services, legal rights, financial strategies, employment, media images and much more. Plus: Wire binding is quad-friendly!

Customer Reviews

The "Best Disability Read" for consumers & professionals
For consumers who have succeeded for decades in living with their disability, "Spinal Network" has earned its reputation as a survival reference; for those who are coping with disability as a new lifestyle, SN provides coping strategies as well as time-proven resources for becoming independent and living each day to the max; for professionals and the curious community, SN provides the most grounded and accurate portrait of active people who have declared their disability an asset. Having survived my disability for 35 years, I can say with confidence -- for everyone -- that SN is the "Best Disability Read" available anywhere! Buy it.

Outstanding Book!
I can't understand why this book is no longer in print. I bought it soon after I suffered a severe spinal cord injury. This book describes so many ways that someone with a SCI can remain active, from sailboating to downhill skiing, handcycling, flying a glider, traveling, mountain climbing, sex, etc, etc, etc... It also gives the current state of medical research in stem cell therapy. It gives phone numbers and web site addresses to the experts where you can get more information and the book itself is FULL of practical information (for example, what to do if you need to urinate during a long airplane flight). I've mentored other new SCI patients and loaned out my copy of this book and found this to be an indispensible resource. It answers basic questions that aren't covered by rehab therapists.

Not for the Ambulatory.
One reviewer said, "This is a 'must have' book for people with any connection to Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)."

Another said, "No joke - if you are living with a spinal cord injury or if you are newly injured, you need to own this book."

Well...sort of. The author of the book clearly meant it for wheelchair-bound persons and all the previous reviewers must have assumed anyone with SCI is. If you are, this book is a great resource. If you have SCI but are still able to walk, dress yourself, etc., albeit with difficulty, as I am, you will find it less useful. There is no information on walking aids, exercise equipment, etc. for those with limited ability to walk or use their arms.

I would also have liked to have tabs for all the chapters not just a couple.

My other gripe...after paying [...] for this book I am annoyed at all the advertisements thru out the book.

The day will probably come when I will need wheels to get around, and will find the book more useful. In the interim, it will spend most of the time on the shelf.