. His wife, Norma Elkin, is by his side, as she has been throughout his recovery. But today isn’t any ordinary lunch. Today, Tom will work with Norma and his occupational therapist, Marie Alexander, MSOT, OTR/L, to feed himself for the first time.

The group peruses the day’s cafeteria offerings. Tom is focused on foods that could be considered “stab-able,” and Marie encourages him to choose whatever he’d like (except maybe soup!) Tom decides on baked chicken, mac and cheese, and roasted cauliflower. They pick up his food and head to a table.

Marie suggests that Tom pull up to the corner of the table — that way, he can get close to his plate without his armrest bumping into the table. Once he’s situated and the table height is set, Marie puts down a non-slip placemat and helps Tom fit a 3D-printed universal cuff over his right hand. Into that, she places a fork that she has bent at an angle to give Tom, who has limited mobility in his arms and wrists, a better angle to “stab” the food on his plate and get it to his mouth.

The mobile arm support Marie attaches to his wheelchair helps Tom lift his arm as he regains strength. “So, we fitted this early on in day program so that he could easily use it in different therapy sessions,” Marie explains. “So, he's used it in rec therapy before, for playing cards; he uses it with me for working on feeding himself. And then we've been problem-solving different fork setups. I feel like this is the one that we thought was the best, right, Tom?”

“The trick is the right position to both get the food and bring it up, and be able to eat it,” Tom says.

“It's finding the balance … because sometimes it looks great for stabbing, but then he brings it here [to his mouth], and the fork is turned sideways,” Marie demonstrates.

Norma cuts the baked chicken into bite-sized pieces, and Tom starts poking at the various foods on his plate. The process could lead to frustration — sometimes the angle isn’t quite right to get the food onto the fork, other times it slides off before Tom can get it to his mouth, or he gets only a partial bite. But Tom approaches the task with determination and humor — and Norma and Marie do the same, offering encouragement, laughter, and troubleshooting tips.

They try different forks and different angles. Marie reminds Tom to sit up straight while he eats, bringing the food to his mouth instead of vice versa. She tells both Tom and Norma that a plate with edges can be helpful, giving him something to push the food against.

“As my mobility gets better, strength gets better in this right arm; this should become easier,” Tom says. Marie agrees.

“But I'm happy to work on it at this phase,” he continues, “because I won't get stronger if I don't.”

“And it's not only strength,” Marie explains, “it's also coordination, learning how to turn on which muscles, when.”

Before today, Tom has been practicing using a fork in the day program gym. Sometimes with therapy putty, and once, with a special treat — coffee cake Marie brought from home. Norma laughs that Tom was just as excited about the coffee cake as he was about feeding it to himself.

Since Tom began the day program, he and Norma have made the drive from Kennesaw every weekday, which makes for long days, but they both say it’s worth it.

“I love the combined approach that Shepherd gives you,” Tom says. “An occupational therapist, physical therapist, a rec therapist, speech therapist, and it's asking me, ‘What do you need? What are your goals?’ You know, my goals are to get stronger, get where I can do more things for myself, get where she [Norma] doesn't have to do as much for me. so that I can just enjoy.”

Tom also says it’s great to have Norma there with him.

“I am a lucky person, that I got my wife Norma as my caregiver, she got trained up early and often on all the things,” he says. “And she got a lot of high marks from nursing.”

“And the staff is so great about training us, and letting us do it, so I got comfortable,” Norma explains.

“But she wanted to learn stuff as quick as she could and then it’s on to the next thing,” Tom says. “I heard that some family members were a little apprehensive, and it's like, ‘No, you're going home, so you need to know this stuff.’”

You can tell that Tom and Norma are a great team. They’ve been married for more than 40 years and even worked together in recent years. Sometimes they complete each other’s sentences. They have learned a lot at Shepherd about adapting to life at home, including little tips and tricks to make daily tasks go more smoothly. When Marie shows them how to put two straws together to create an extra-long straw that’s easier to reach, Norma has already experimented with it. She’s even developed her own technique for bending the bottom of the straw, so it balances a little better in the drink.

Tom returns his focus to the task at hand.

“The rotation of my wrist is not where it needs to be quite yet. It's getting there. I mean, in a short amount of time, we went from pretty much nothing to some activity … I am so determined to get some of this cauliflower!”

“Did Marie tell you this is your last meal for today, so you better eat up?” Norma jokes. “Just trying to give him a little motivation,” she laughs.

He tries again, but sometimes the cauliflower slides off the fork. The mac and cheese and chicken are a little more cooperative. Norma and Marie cheer him on — Norma tells him to go for it, that she’ll “go for the save” if anything falls. Marie reminds him to keep his shoulder down and let his elbow come out a bit. He gets a full bite — success.

“Oh, that was tasty. Very good,” Tom declares.

Written by Ruth Underwood

These milestones illustrate the strength and determination Emma showed during her recovery from transverse myelitis, an inflammatory disease of the spinal cord that can lead to paralysis and other neurological symptoms. 

The day after Thanksgiving, 2023, Emma lost feeling in her left arm. Within 20 minutes, she was paralyzed from the neck down. Her parents rushed her to a hospital in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The next day, she transferred to MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston. She was in respiratory failure and was immediately intubated. 

After she stabilized, doctors at MUSC encouraged the family to take Emma to Shepherd Center for rehabilitation. She was admitted to Shepherd Center’s ICU on Dec. 29, 2023, still using a ventilator to help her breathe and with paralysis on her left side. 

Yet when Emma and her family entered Shepherd Center, they were filled with hope. 

“From the moment we came through the doors, our lives changed,” says Emma’s mother, Tracy. “I can’t say enough good things about Emma’s care team. It was like a family.” 

Emma’s first goal was to get off the ventilator. Her team worked with her to wean her from ventilator support. She participated in physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Function and feeling began to return slowly. When she had trouble motivating herself, she says the staff stepped in to support her. 

“They would give me pep talks,” she remembers. “Everyone was rooting for me.” 

When she left Shepherd Center on April 9, 2024, she could care for herself independently. Her mobility was improving, too, and she transitioned from a power chair to a manual chair. 

More than a year later, Emma, 22, needs a cane only when she’s walking for long periods. She’s back at home and is considering going to college. And she’s grateful for Shepherd Center. “I like to say that MUSC saved my life, and Shepherd changed my life,” Emma says. “I learned how to be stronger and to advocate for myself. They made what I was experiencing into something positive.” 

Written by Sara Baxter

Participants had the opportunity to visit more than a dozen booths and learn from representatives of Shepherd Center departments and organizations outside the hospital working to make the world more accessible.

The event showcased three speakers from the accessibility advocacy community — corporate disability and diversity consultant at Your Invisible Disability Group, Yvette Pegues, Ed.D.; freelance writer, disability blogger, and accessibility consultant, Empish Thomas; and former Shepherd patient and founder of iAccess Life, Brandon Winfield.

Check out the links below for more information about Shepherd departments and outside organizations represented at the GAAD Resource Fair.

Shepherd Center Department Highlight: Assistive Technology

The Center for Assistive Technologies encompasses the Wheelchair Seating and Mobility Clinic, Driver Evaluation and Rehabilitation Program, and Access Technology Lab

Shepherd Center Research Department Highlight:  

Accessibility User Research Collective (AURC)

The Accessibility User Research Collective (AURC) is a U.S.-based national community of people with all types of disabilities interested in helping make technology, health, and consumer goods companies more accessible and usable. AURC has partnered with major companies to help them achieve their accessibility and usability goals for their products. They run full-scale research projects with people with disabilities so that they can develop a deep understanding of their customers, uncover hidden market share, or meet federal accessibility regulations.                           The AURC is organized and maintained by assistive technology and accessibility researchers at Shepherd Center. 

Call to Action: If you have a disability of any kind, sign up for the AURC today to qualify to participate in paid research studies! 

Shepherd Center Department Highlight: 

Recreation Therapy – Accessible Gaming  

Accessible gaming refers to the design and development of video games with features that allow people with disabilities to play and enjoy games comfortably and effectively. This includes incorporating options for various disabilities, such as customizable controls, visual and auditory aids, text-to-speech functionality, and alternative input methods. Accessible gaming aims to ensure that individuals with disabilities can fully participate in gaming experiences without facing unnecessary barriers or limitations. 

Shepherd Center Department Highlight: Emergency Preparedness 

Shepherd Center’s Recreation Therapy Program, along with other consultants, has cultivated resources for individuals with mobility impairments to prepare for emergencies, including fires and natural disasters. Due to the unique needs and challenges faced by individuals with mobility impairments, being adequately prepared for emergencies can be a matter of life and death. In times of crisis, access to necessary medical equipment, evacuation assistance, and specialized care can significantly impact outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Come learn about how you can be more prepared to stay safe during an emergency.

Burnalong is a digital health and wellness platform with the mission to change lives by giving people the health and wellbeing programming and social support they need. Shepherd Center has partnered with Burnalong to develop specialized content for both live-stream and on-demand classes for wellness activities such as exercise and education content, that can be utilized by various disability groups for accessible wellness. The Shepherd team introduces the platform to our clients while they are here as patients, and they can continue participating and accessing content curated by Shepherd clinicians when they go home.  

Makers Making Change is an organization focused on connecting makers to people in need, providing affordable open-source assistive technology, and enabling community-based development.

Since 2000, Side by Side has advanced the long-term well-being of Georgia's brain injury community, offering an adult day program that provides a supportive environment where adults suffering from brain injuries can redevelop social and work-related skills at their own pace in a meaningful, productive way. People with brain injuries come from every walk of life – a business executive, a teacher, an athlete, or a returning veteran. After they come home from the hospital, they face a big unknown: “Will I need non-stop caregiving from my family? Will I be able to work again? Will I have friends, colleagues and live a productive life?” Side by Side answers these unknowns for hundreds of people in Georgia’s brain injury community.

iAccess Innovations has developed and released a lifestyle application that will allow its users to rate and review locations they visit based on their accessibility. Users will be able to rate places like restaurants, stores, and hotels based on the accessibility of the parking, entrance, interior space, and bathrooms. They plan to build strategic partnerships with booking agencies and exciting brands to empower the community to seek new adventures, stress-free. Prospective versions of the application will expand to other forms of disabilities like vision impairments, hearing impairments, and autism and allow users to interact and keep up with their friends, through a social feed. 

The ultimate goal of iAccess Life is to develop a platform that will assist in shining a light on accessibility flaws. 

Tools for Life, Georgia's Assistive Technology Act Program, is dedicated to increasing access to and acquisition of assistive technology (AT) devices and services for Georgians of all ages and disabilities so they can live, learn, work and play independently and with greater freedom in communities of their choice. Individuals can visit an assistive technology resource center (ATRC) to learn more about assistive technology devices and to try before they buy! They offer AT device demonstrations, individual and group AT trainings, and AT device loans.  

Georgia Tech Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI) is recognized as a leader for services and research in accessibility. We are dedicated to an inclusive society through innovations in assistive and universally designed technologies, with a goal of addressing the full range of needs for accessibility. We are committed to the promotion of technological innovation and development of user-centered research, products, and services for individuals with disabilities. Ranging from braille to digital compliance, CIDI is your one-stop shop for affordable accessibility. 

The Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (GLS) promotes assistive technology and accessible reading materials for individuals who are blind or have physical disabilities, offering "talking book" and large-print library services with over 450,000 annual circulations. Materials can be obtained freely by mail for those unable to visit a library. GLS collaborates with state library systems to provide access to the national library program by the Library of Congress and the National Library Service for the Blind & Print Disabled. Borrowers can search the online catalog for materials and receive assistance from reader advisers in person or via phone. GLS also offers consulting, training, and serves as a liaison between local libraries and the National Library Service. 

Centers for Independent Living are community-based, cross-disability, non-profit organizations that are designed and operated by people with disabilities. CILs are unique in that they operate according to a strict philosophy of consumer control, wherein people with all types of disabilities directly govern and staff the organization. Centers for Independent Living Provide: Peer support, information and referrals, individual and systems advocacy, independent living skills training, and transition services.  disABILITY LINK is a center for independent living led by and for people with disabilities and promotes choice and full participation in community life.  

NFB-NEWSLINE® is a free audio news service for anyone who is blind, low-vision, deafblind, or otherwise print-disabled that offers access to more than 500 publications, emergency weather alerts, job listings, and more.   

The Georgia Radio Reading Service, or GaRRS for short, is Georgia’s premier provider of information for individuals who are visually-impaired or otherwise print-impaired. Every month, we broadcast and stream hundreds of programs including local and national newspapers, books, magazines, events, employment opportunities, and shopping ads. We invite you to access our expansive program library or sign up to listen to our live broadcast. 

Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) in the Atlanta area provides essential services and support to individuals with disabilities. They offer a wide range of assistance, including providing medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, and hospital beds at little to no cost to those in need. Additionally, FODAC offers home modifications and vehicle adaptations to improve accessibility and mobility for individuals with disabilities. Their mission is to enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families by providing access to necessary equipment and resources. FODAC plays a crucial role in the Atlanta community by promoting independence, dignity, and inclusion for individuals living with disabilities. 

The Center for Puppetry Arts is deeply committed to fostering Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in our local and global community. The Center realizes the unique ability of puppetry to tell diverse stories with diverse characters that relate to people from all cultures. We celebrate and embrace diverse voices, perspectives, backgrounds, and stories to inspire each other. Our conscious intention is to promote these principles in our programs, events, outreach, education and development opportunities, and communications, and to create safe spaces for groups and individuals to feel comfortable sharing their authentic selves. Accessible programs include Sensory Friendly Sundays, ASL-Interpreted Performances, Audio-Described Performances, and more.  

Not in Georgia? No problem. You can visit the links below to find resources near you.

Find your Assistive Technology Act program

Find your Center for Independent Living

Find your local Developmental Disabilities Council

Learn more about AbleGamers Foundation

Visit the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled

Learn about/sign up for the National Federation of the Blind’s NFB Newsline

Explore vision technology through Palmer Vision

Find a Telecommunications Equipment Distribution Program for people with hearing loss/deafness near you

Learn more about the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program

Set for April 15-16, 2016 at the North Atlanta Trade Center in Norcross, Ga., the free event will feature exhibitors offering technologies, resources, products and services to improve your quality of life and self-esteem and maximize your independence. Shepherd Center is a platinum sponsor of the event.

The Mobility Show will offer information on:

• Mobility Independence: From wheelchairs and scooters to lifts and vehicles, you can see what options are available to you to get around with mobility independence.
• Lifestyle Independence: From local activities to travel, there is more for you to discover and do in the world around us.
• Technology Independence: Smartphone and tablet applications, as well as other assistive services, can help you better communicate and move with independence.

New this year is a job fair hosted by Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA). GVRA aims to help people with disabilities achieve independence through employment.  Attendees will have the opportunity to meet employers and build career connections. Employers will interact with skilled individuals and GVRA clients who offer the talents they need for a modern workforce. Shepherd Center's recreation therapy department also will host an informational booth at the show, as well as provide demonstrations of various activities.

People ages 18 and up who are interested in attending the Mobility Show are asked to pre-register for free via the event website. Pre-registering will save you time and allow you to print your attendee badge and fast-track your admittance into the Mobility Show. Also, your response to the registration questionnaire will assist organizers in planning for your attendance and help identify potential topics and interest for organizers to consider for workshops planned for the Mobility Show. For more information, visit www.mobilityshow.org.

“I’ve been coming up with this stuff since I got hurt, and developed it around whatever I like doing and am having a hard time doing,” Talbot said. “So I work on making it so I can do what I need to do as independently as I can.”

A member of his high school’s cheerleading team in Memphis, Tenn., Talbot was practicing some new tricks on a trampoline on the last day of school in 2004 when he was injured. After being in an acute care hospital for two weeks, he transferred to Shepherd Center for rehabilitation and has stayed in Atlanta ever since. While living in Atlanta, he’s become a star on the Shepherd Smash quadriplegic rugby team, and he competes in wheelchair racing and bass fishing tournaments for Shepherd.

“Recreation therapy is one of the most important aspects of therapy,” Talbot said.

That’s why he’s created several products for recreational activities. They are grasping cuffs for weightlifting and fishing, along with another device that helps someone with limited or no hand function reel in fish, and a strap that helps secure a person to their wheelchair when they’re playing sports.

The store is his first foray into business, and its staff is made up of Talbot, along with his mom and dad. He has the ideas, and his mom does the sewing that turns the ideas into products.

“She does it all,” he said. “My mom makes every one of those products by herself. She’s pretty awesome.”

In addition to sporting goods, he also makes strap-on utensils like knives and forks, dressing aids like an unbuttoner and covers to hide a Foley catheter or leg bag.

Most of Talbot’s ideas are incredibly simple, he said, as the name of his Simple Pull-On Socks indicates. For someone who has impaired hand function or arthritis, getting the sock over the toes is difficult.

“Now you can just slip a finger into the tab and whether the finger has function or not, the finger is still going to go through the loop to pull it up,” he said.

Talbot recently launched a website and has spent time going to trade shows and expos to promote his business. In addition, he and his friends are recommending the store to their friends and contacts on their social media pages. Word is gradually spreading about HandiAccessories, he added.

“I just can’t believe that some of this stuff hasn’t been out there,” Talbot said. “It’s been really rewarding when people tell me that the products are helping them. Many of them have been hurt for a while, and being able to come up with a simple idea that helps others has been great.”

Written by David Terraso

Set for May 15-16, 2015 at the North Atlanta Trade Center in Norcross, Ga., the free event will feature exhibitors offering technologies, resources, products and services to enhance your quality of life and self-esteem and maximize your independence.

Shepherd Center, along with R&R Mobility and Vantage Mobility International, are platinum sponsors of the event, which will also help mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA Legacy Tour bus will make stops at the Mobility Expo on May 15 and 16. The bus features photos, a history exhibit and information about the ADA Legacy Project.

The Mobility Expo will offer information on:

• Mobility Independence: From wheelchairs and scooters to lifts and vehicles, you can see what options are available to you to get around with mobility independence.
• Lifestyle Independence: From local activities to travel, there is more for you to discover and do in the world around us.
• Technology Independence: Smartphone and tablet applications, as well as other assistive services, can help you better communicate and move with independence.
• Financial Independence: Find what resources are available for you to pursue vocational and employment opportunities. Information will be available on topics such as how employment can affect disability benefits and resources to help along the way to graduation and employment.

Organizers are still lining up exhibitors for the event. Interested vendors may visit the event website for more information.

People ages 18 and up who are interested in attending the Mobility Expo are asked to pre-register for free via the event website. Pre-registering will save you time and allow you to print your attendee badge and fast-track your admittance into the Expo. Also, your response to the registration questionnaire will assist organizers in planning for your attendance and help identify potential topics and interest for organizers to consider for workshops planned for the Expo.

For more information, visit www.themobilityexpo.com/home.html.

I’ve found when I am out and about in public places, people often ask if I need any help, particularly getting in and out of my car. The sight of me breaking down my wheelchair and putting it into my car must look pretty disabling to them. I usually smile and tell them, “No thanks, I do this all the time,” as I finish pulling my wheelchair into the car.

Often, friends will accompany me to my car just to watch me get in and take my wheelchair apart. My routine never ceases to amaze them. “Wow!” they say, “You do this every day?” Yep, every day. Every new thing I learn to do from my wheelchair allows me greater independence. This freedom of movement is so important to my personal wellbeing. I don’t take anything for granted.

There are times in my wife’s career in public relations when she must be away from home on business trips. These days away from me are particularly difficult for Cathy, but are important for me to practice taking care of myself. Wheelchair or not, I have to live my life. Cathy and I talk about each trip as it comes up, how long she’ll be away and what my plans are while she is gone. Cathy encourages me to be with friends and challenges me to be as independent as possible. Cathy’s business trips are emotionally hard on both of us. We had planned in my walking days to take many of these trips together since the kids are now grown. Unfortunately, my paralysis that began in 2013 changed many things, including short-term travel plans. Hopefully gaining more and greater independence will allow me to occasionally accompany my wife on her trips, but it will be an adjustment.

Everything about being in a wheelchair is an adjustment. No one has it together in the beginning. Everything I learned at Shepherd Center prepared me for returning home – from driving a car, vital for my independence and ability to keep my career, to making the bed and cooking a meal. You’ve got to eat.

But nothing ever really prepares you for that moment when you find yourself sitting in your wheelchair in the middle of the kitchen with no one else home, just you and your thoughts. What if something unforeseen happens? What if I can’t reach something from my wheelchair? What if I fall out of my wheelchair? What if. . . .? My list goes on. The truth is I’m OK when Cathy has to be away. It allows me time to practice my skills, to reaffirm that I can take care of myself in a wheelchair. I haven’t starved yet. Sure, there are things that limit me since being in a wheelchair. I have to remind myself there are things each of us can’t do, even when we’re able-bodied.

Being in a wheelchair has its challenges. I can’t reach items in a store on the upper shelves. I am no longer shy about asking another person to reach for an item I cannot get. Everyone is happy to oblige, if not a little taken aback. “The guy in the wheelchair is talking to me.” I’ve yet to bite anyone. Taking my grocery items out to my car on my lap can be comical, but I’ve learned to tie them down. People with a disability are nothing, if not resourceful.

For me, it’s no longer about being perfect, not making mistakes or worrying about what others may think. It’s about taking care of myself, accomplishing my tasks and accepting who I am in a wheelchair.

Accepting who I am now has been the biggest adjustment. For months after I was first paralyzed, I tried to live in the able-bodied world as if my paralysis had never happened. I tried to ignore my wheelchair, to do my daily routine as though I was not in a wheelchair. Those months were frustrating and exhausting. Ten months out from the day I was paralyzed, Cathy and I are just now beginning to truly embrace what it means to live our lives together with me in a wheelchair.

I now see my wheelchair as an extension of me, not as an intrusion into my world to be ignored and worked around. Accepting that I fit more into the world of people with disabilities has freed me to be more independent and fit more easily within the able-bodied world.

Yes, I drive independently. Yes, I have returned to work full-time as a marriage and family counselor. Fortunately, I’ve had a career where I sit in a chair and listen to people. The only difference now is my chair has wheels and cost a lot more. Yes, I go out to dinner, shopping, and social events with my wife, family and friends. And yes, occasionally I have bowel or bladder accidents and have to go home. Yes, my arms, shoulders and hands ache from pushing my wheelchair. And yes, it’s frustrating to not find an open handicap parking space and have to improvise something far from the entrance to where I am going.

But I am alive. I am content. I find joy even in the most frustrating circumstances. It’s a choice I make every day. It’s a choice we all make. One day soon, I will get on that plane with my wife, and we will fly to her business destination together. But for now, I’m just trying to reach the peanut butter in the pantry. Now where did I put my reaching tool?

To learn more about spinal cord injury rehabilitation at Shepherd Center, click here.

KEN JOHNSON is a licensed professional counselor with 20 years experience in private practice. He is the administrative director and founder of East-West Psychotherapy Associates in Marietta, Ga. Ken has a master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ken experienced a medical crisis in September 2013 that left him with paraplegia. Subsequently, Ken spent four weeks in rehabilitation at Shepherd Center. The experience at Shepherd Center helped prepare him for life in a wheelchair and set the stage for a shift in his private practice to include counseling individuals and family members facing medical traumas and disability issues. Ken has been married for 31 years to Cathy. They have two grown children and live in Marietta, Ga. Ken can be contacted at 770-419-5657 or at kjohnson@eastwestpsych.com.