underestimated-2

Access to the right equipment can be a game changer for independence and quality of life. Hear from an Occupational Therapist about incorporating specific equipment into your daily routine, and hear from members of the SCIO community about the equipment that has helped them.

Sylvia

Sylvia is a Registered Occupational Therapist. She has over 15 years of experience working as an OT with extensive experience working with clients with neurological conditions and complex clinical presentations. Sylvia’s current practice is with Complex Injury Rehab Inc. providing both clinic and community-based Occupational Therapy services.

Christine Honsl

Christine Honsl sustained a spinal cord injury in 1990. Trained as a social worker, Christine was very independent for many years. She joins us today to share strategies to maintain quality of life with aging.

Mike Johnson

Whether you’re newly injured or have been injured for a long while, using assistive devices and equipment can help you in your day-to-day life. Tory catches up with Mike Johnson in his home town of Collingwood.

Sylvia Coates OT Reg.(Ont.)
Occupational Therapist, Complex Injury Rehab Inc.

Sylvia Coates is a Registered Occupational Therapist (OT). She has extensive experience working with clients with neurological conditions and complex injuries. Sylvia’s current practice is with Complex Injury Rehab Inc. providing both clinic and community-based Occupational Therapy services. She is certified in Advanced NDT and Bobath and an ADP Authorizer for Seating and Mobility Devices/Rehab Seating. Sylvia is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Program.

Christine Honsl

Christine Honsl has a Biology degree and Masters in Social Work. She lives in her own house with her cat which she renovated 20 years ago to suit her needs. Christine has been active in adapted recreation over the years with scuba diving, kayaking, swimming and active wheeling in nature. Now 32 years post spinal cord injury, Christine is currently interested in doing advocacy around home care, spinal cord injury care and promoting compassion in health care.

Michael Johnson

My name is Michael Johnson and I am proud to have survived and then thrived following a spinal cord injury in 1995, which resulted in quadriplegia. Coping with such a devastating permanent injury was quite a challenge mentally and physically; however, focusing on what I had vs. what I lost helped me to move on in a positive direction. I completed a degree in psychology, followed up by a Masters in Business. Soon after completing my MBA I launched SCI Supply Inc. – an online medical supply company. I have grown the company for the past 12 years and I take great satisfaction in knowing we provide fantastic service to people across Canada and the US.

Managing your skin can set the foundation for living a healthy life as you age with a disability. Learn about how pressure injuries can impact people with an SCI, and how certain routines and equipment can help reduce your risk of sustaining them.

Ron Gionet

Ron Gionet sustained a spinal cord injury in 1984 as a result of a motor vehicle accident. One of the first things he remembers being told in Rehab was to make sure someone checked his skin for any signs of redness.

Pamela

Dr. Pamela E. Houghton is Professor Emerita as of July 2021 in the School of Physical Therapy at Western University, London, Canada. She joins Tory to talk about pressure injuries and the effect they can have on people with spinal cord injury.

OHH

Having the right equipment can make you more comfortable. Oda visit Ontario Home Health to learn about new products and accessories.

Ron Gionet

Ron Gionet sustained a C6 spinal cord injury in 1984 as a result of a motor vehicle accident. One of the first things he was told in Rehab was to make sure someone checked his skin for any signs of redness. Since his accident he has only had a couple of pressure sores, none of which have stopped him from engaging in my daily activities. “As soon as I find any marks on my skin that might become a problem I am right on top of it. My wife checks all the time and some of the attendants are good with checking. When I have a red spot we put Tegaderm or skin prep on it right away which helps. Whatever precautions you take to prevent skin breakdown is in your self-interest.”

Heather Hollingshead

Heather has spent her career working in the spinal cord injury field. She initially worked as a Rehabilitation Counsellor in the inpatient spinal cord rehabilitation unit at Lyndhurst Hospital. She joined Spinal Cord Injury Ontario (formerly the Canadian Paraplegic Association) and started the Barrie office in 1984. Since that time Heather has provided support and community services to those with spinal cord injury and other physical disabilities and their families throughout Simcoe County, Grey County, Muskoka Haliburton and beyond.

Pamela Houghton

Pamela E. Houghton is Professor Emerita in the School of Physical Therapy at Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. In 2007, she launched the Masters of Clinical Science program in the field of wound healing (MClSc-WH) which is a unique graduate program offered via distance education to a variety of health care professionals delivering wound care across Canada. Dr. Houghton’s active research program at Western has been dedicated to evaluating advanced wound treatments including electrical stimulation therapy (E-Stim). E-Stim is now used across Canada to help stimulate faster healing of pressure injuries and other types of chronic wounds. To learn more about E-Stim visit estim4wounds.ca. As a Physical Therapist (retired), Pamela led the implementation of community-based pressure injury management programs for people with spinal cord injuries. She was also involved in the development of an interdisciplinary wound care service for people with diabetic foot ulcers. Pamela has held many leadership roles in the wound care field. She was a founding board member of the Canadian Association of Wound Care, now called Wounds Canada. She is currently an Expert Advisor to the newly formed Canadian Pressure Injury Advisory Panel.

Bone health is an important part of aging. In this series, learn about the importance of bone density, how you can reduce the risk of osteoporotic fractures as you age and keeping your bones healthy.

Bone Lab

Dr. Lora Giangregorio is a PhD Professor and Schlegel Research Chair in Mobility and Aging Dept. of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. The aim of Lora’s research team is to reduce the burden of osteoporotic fractures. In this segment of Underestimated, Tory visits the University of Waterloo to learn about medical imaging technologies that explore and evaluate bone and muscle responses.

Ben

Ben Kwarteng was injured 14 years ago, and when he left Lyndhurst, he didn’t really consider his bone density in the future.

Lee

On this segment of Underestimated, Lee Zinkan-McKee, a registered nurse with the Georgian Bay Healthy Aging Program, joins Tory to talk about bone health and nutrition and why it’s important.

Lora Giangregorio

Lora is a Professor and the Schlegel Research Chair in Mobility and Aging in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. The aim of her research is to understand how we can use exercise to prevent falls and fractures, and maintain or improve physical functioning with age. Professor Giangregorio leads the Bone health and Exercise Science lab, and her research team conducts clinical trials to investigate the effects of exercise interventions for reducing fracture risk. The BonES lab also leads studies to understand how to identify people at risk of fracture, including high risk populations such as individuals with spinal cord injury. They lead initiatives and implementation studies to understand how to move research on exercise into practice. For example, the research team has worked with Osteoporosis Canada to develop BoneFit, a two-day workshop for physiotherapists and kinesiologists on appropriate assessment and exercise prescription for individuals with osteoporosis. They also led the development of the Too Fit To Fracture Exercise and Physical Activity Recommendations for Individuals with Osteoporosis.

Benjamin Kwarteng

I’ve been a Peer Support volunteer since 2013 and a member of the Young Professionals Board at Spinal Cord Injury Ontario since 2016. I am also one of the facilitators for Cortree’s Understanding Spinal Cord Injury: Training for Attendants program. I am the Founder of the caregiver app platform All Access Ability. As a person living with spinal cord injury for 12 years, I notice that there are many problems when it comes to receiving the service that you need to get through your daily activity. By developing All Access Ability, the goal is to bridge the gap when it comes down to home service. I am working on an inclusive fashion line for people with disabilities that will combine fashion with ease of access for people getting dressed and undressed. When I am not doing any of these many adventures I enjoy being a source of information to individuals who have just been disabled with spinal cord injury, by giving them feedback based on my personal experience on my website at benjaminking.ca. I enjoy the outdoors on most sunny days either going to the park or driving around the city in my wheelchair. I’m a sports guy, I enjoy watching basketball, soccer, American football, and occasionally hockey playoffs. I love attending live sports games.

Lee Zinkan-McKee RN, CPMH(C)
South Georgian Bay Healthy Aging Program
www.gbfht.ca

Lee Zinkan-McKee is a Registered Nurse with the South Georgian Bay – Healthy Aging Program. Lee has over 35 years of community health nursing experience, in front line and management positions. Most recently, Lee has worked for the Georgian Bay Family Health Team in the COVID Assessment Clinic and then in 2021 joined the Healthy Aging Program. This program involves supporting older adults and caregivers to maintain safe and healthy living in their home through the provision of physical/brain health assessments, self-care management strategies, navigation to community resources and referrals to geriatric specialists if needed.

In this short series, learn about how the joints impact mobility as you age. We take you on a tour of a physiotherapy clinic that specializes in preventing wear and tear on the joints for people who use a wheelchair and hear from someone with lived experience on the importance of taking care of your body as you get older.

Kyle’s Studio

Kyle Whaley is the Executive Director at Propel Physiotherapy. He began his professional career at Lyndhurst Centre, working with people who have spinal cord injuries. He chats virtually with Tory, in this segment of Underestimated.

Kyle’s Clinic

Propel Physiotherapy takes an individualized approach to rehabilitation. Oda visits the clinic in Etobicoke to learn some strategies to alleviate wear and tear for people who use a wheelchair.

Al Reeves

43 years ago, Al Reeves sustained a spinal cord injury. He was 24 years old. Since then, Al has learned a lot about taking care of his body and having a positive outlook.

Al Reeves

Al sustained a C3-4 incomplete spinal cord injury in 1979: 

“My independence means everything to me, and every illness/injury/pain can set me back from regular exercise routines, ultimately making it challenging to stay at my highest fitness and health and functioning on my own. That’s why maintaining them is so important to me. Working out on machines, walking in parallel bars and with walker have all been extremely beneficial to help me to keep fit. I have loved to be active and risk-taking over the years but there can be short and long term consequences that I’ve tried to balance out. 

Stretching, massaging, ultrasound, taping, Voltaren have been used to address issues and with various successes. For example, after my right shoulder tear regular gentle stretching was of benefit. During my various knee/hip/shoulder issues massaging often was useful, likewise when more problematic the ultrasound and taping gave me relief.  A commitment to looking after my health and by eating well, having a positive/optimistic outlook, willing to troubleshoot and adjust to issues, along with utilizing knowledgeable relatable physio’s/trainers/OT’s/physiatrist/PSW’s/family and friends goes a long way to successfully living with SCI.”

Kyle Whaley
BScPT, BSc, BPHE, CAFCI
Executive Director, Physiotherapist
Certificate in Vestibular Rehabilitation
https://propelphysiotherapy.com/

Kyle Whaley graduated from the University of Toronto Physical Therapy Program in 2002 after completing his undergraduate degree in Physical and Health Education at Queen’s university. He began his professional career at the Lyndhurst Centre working with spinal cord injured clients. He is currently the Executive Director at Propel Physiotherapy, overseeing 2 clinics in the GTA and community based treatment in Peterborough. He has spearheaded the use of cutting edge technology at Propel including the Keeogo TM robotic assisted walking device and the PoNS TM, portable neuromodulation stimulator. Kyle is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto in the Department of Physical Therapy. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, running, biking, boating and coaching his 2 boys in sport.

Mental health is one of the most important aspects to our quality of life. In this series, hear from professionals in the psychotherapy and counseling field and learn about how you can access mental health resources that are tailored to seniors and people with physical disabilities.

Swati

Dr. Swati Mehta is a registered pyschotherapist, interested in improving access to evidence-based mental health services for those undergoing rehabilitation through online health programs.

Randy

Randy Upper is a Registered Social Worker with Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. Randy has experience in providing psychoeducation and counseling to individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities and he is currently working as a Health Educator and Clinical Research Assistant in the RehabPsych Lab. He also brings with him (or brings to this project) life experience as he sustained an SCI over 30 years ago.

CFS

Catholic Family Services in Barrie hosts a program called Mature Minds. Tory visits their office to learn more.

Swati Mehta PhD

Swati is a Scientist at Parkwood Institute Research, Lawson Research Institute and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She is a registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Her research interest is in improving access to evidence based mental health services for those undergoing rehabilitation through online health programs.

Dr. Mehta completed a Masters of Art in Counselling Psychology and PhD in Health Services and Rehabilitation. She recently completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Regina in the Department of Psychology. She has authored over 60 peer-reviewed articles. She has been awarded the Lawson Impact Leadership Award in 2016, the Royal Society of Canada Alice Wilson Award in 2017 and the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation Excellence Award in 2017.

Randy Upper

Randy is a Registered Social Worker with Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. He has completed a Masters of Social Work from Wilfred Laurier University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Brock University. Randy has experience in providing psychoeducation and counseling to individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities. He is currently working as a Health Educator and Clinical research Associate and in the RehabPsych Lab at St. Joseph’s hospital in London, Ontario. He also brings with him life experience as he sustained a spinal cord injury over 30 years ago. He was a member of the Canadian National Cycling team, representing our country in handcycling, from 2001-2003. During this time he placed fifth at World Championships, third at the New York City Marathon, and an incredible first place at the Boston Marathon. You can learn more about Randy at t6talk.com.

Jenna Wickens, BRLS
Mature Minds Coordinator, Community Development
Catholic Family Services of Sincoe County
t. (705) 726.2503 x 140 |  Toll Free (888) 726.2503 | www.cfssc.ca

Prior to working with Catholic Family Services as the Mature Minds Coordinator, Jenna engaged older adults through virtual platforms, worked in family ministry, and directed a youth centre. Her educational background is in Community Recreation from Brock University and Niagara College. For over a decade, Jenna has been a “storyteller” for those whose voices often get lost in the shuffle. Through both poetry and prose, she has advocated for the encouragement and resiliency found in others. In recent years, Jenna has become a spokesperson against ageism, recognizing that a cultural shift needs to occur if we are to see “growing old” as an opportunity not a liability. Jenna is passionate about her faith, puns, and people. She wants people to know that they are valued and firmly believes that the greatest superpower is hope.

Discover accessible activities to keep your heart healthy as you age, hear a physiotherapist’s perspective on heart health and learn about the importance of adapting as you age with a disability.

Diana and Tory

Accessible activities? Yes please! Tory catches up with Diana McCauley to explore 3 accessible activities that help keep her heart happy.

Sybille

Sybille Bergin is a Physiotherapist specializing in neurological rehabilitation. Sybille and her family built Bergin Motion, a family owned physiotherapy clinic in the Barrie area.

Joan Lewis

Joan Lewis sustained a spinal cord injury in 1975 and has found living and aging with a spinal cord injury means constantly adapting. She has participated in competitive and recreational sport from archery to kayaking to sailing to Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.

Learn more about aging, spinal cord injury and heart health, check out our free course!