Photo by Lawson Filho

We at mobileWOMEN were thrilled to connect with athlete, model and advocate, Samanta Bullock from all the way across the pond! Always curious about dynamic women around the world, we asked Samanta to share her story and then answer a few questions to learn more about her passion and motivation. In Samanta's words:
 
"With a background in fashion, I am passionate about inclusive fashion and leading a healthy and active lifestyle. I live in London and am sharing my knowledge and life experiences to raise awareness of inclusion, fashion, and healthy lifestyles.

I have been in a wheelchair since 1992 and played wheelchair tennis from 2003 until 2009, representing Brazil and winning a doubles silver medal at the 2007 Para Pan Am Games. I am living proof that a wheelchair does not have to be an obstacle to achieving any of my goals.

Born in 1978 in Osorio-Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, my life changed forever at the tender age of 14 when a bullet wound left me paraplegic. Before my injury, I was a model and was very active, playing handball and tennis. Since my accident, I have worked in politics, played tennis at the highest level and performed in the 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, among many other achievements.

I can now look back proudly at what I have already achieved since my accident and have every reason to feel optimistic about the future. I have had the chance to participate in London Fashion Week, Fashions Finest, International Dubai Fashion Week, Spoken London Fashion Week and London Alternative Fashion Week. I have also been in fashion shows in Portugal, Brazil, Spain and Turkey.


As part of my journey to make fashion more accessible to everyone and the disabled population be more represented, I have been speaking in a number of conferences, events and schools. Fashion has the power to normalize things and embrace equality. It has been hard work, pushing for inclusion but a meaningful one and I am making it part of my journey.

I invite you to be part of it, to work in the direction of more inclusive world. To make this new generation understand that all differences are welcome. Be with me, your opinion and presence are needed and I am happy to share my journey with you."

mW: Thank you for sharing your powerful story with us! You have obviously gone through a devastating injury yet you have been able to accomplish so much since then. What helped to you to get through the tough times?

SB: The thing is, I have been working every single day for years now, even when I am on holiday (vacation), I am making content. What you see is the result of a lot of work. I don’t focus on the big picture, I do one thing at time. The days I am in pain, I try to do my best on that day and see what is the best thing will help me to get through, sometimes it is a bath, other times it is to go swimming, have a nice tea, talk with someone that I love, meditation etc. It depends, but it is day by day, hour by hour.

mW: What advice would you give someone with a recent injury or disability?

SB: When the injury is recent, all senses and motions are still raw. We have a grief period; it is necessary - our past died and is reborn. Just believe, “all will be fine”, “all will be fine”. Relax and go step by step. Here is the process to rediscover what we can do such as pee, feelings, transfers, etc, celebrate each little conquer. Live day by day.

mW: What compelled you to be an advocate for inclusion?

SB: I was tired of being left out, to be carried around, with places that were not accessible, to get on buses on my bum because they aren’t accessible, to have buses close the door in your face, or not stop for you. I was tired of all this, missing accessibility and representation. For example, restaurants won’t be accessible if they don’t see the wheelchair user, as a consumer. We are not represented, why will they change?

Photo by Lawson Filho

mW: Why did you choose fashion as a tool to promote inclusion?

SB: Because I think fashion has the power. Everyone wears clothes. Fashion also empowers and gives us the confidence that we need.

mW: Do you have any recent projects that you would like to share? 

SB: I am helping fellow mobileWOMAN, Louise Sertsis from Advanced Freedom, design her wheelchair bag, the HandiPac, by giving her feedback. I think it has enormous potential to help people with Multiple Sclerosis and other different limitations, regain their freedom.

Samanta with the HandiPac

I am doing my fashion shows and also, I am responsible at VisABLE People for the models division. They are the world’s first initiative to create mainstream, professional opportunities for actors, presenters and models with disabilities. I have been with them for more than 10 years now and we decided to have a part of the agency just for the modelling element from now on. It is so exciting! I am also launching my new website with a lot of upcoming news so stay tuned!

mW: What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

SB: That we have the same rights as anyone else. That it doesn’t matter if you have a disability or not, you can go through a shop and buy something that fits you, that you have the right fitting room to try it, that the staff are comfortable with you... I mean, just to be treated as equal.

Photo by Lawson Filho

We at mobileWOMEN.org, were thrilled to have the opportunity to catch up with the dynamic Rosemarie Rossetti, after delivering her powerful TEDx presentation. We learned about her journey and tips for those considering such a challenging endeavor.
On June 13, 1998, my husband Mark Leder and I went for a bicycle ride on a rural wooded bike trail in Granville, OH. After riding for a few minutes, Mark thought he heard a gunshot and slowed down to investigate.  As he scanned the scene he saw a large tree falling. He shouted, “Stop!” But the warning was too late. Instantly, I was crushed by a 7,000 pound tree and paralyzed from the waist down.

Coming home from the hospital in a wheelchair, I realized how my home intensified my disability.  My husband and I knew that we had to sell our home and find something more suitable. We decided to build our home and the Universal Design Living Laboratory was born. This has been the catalyst for many of my projects.

By Janira Obregon

Soon after I was born, my mom knew that there was something wrong because, unlike most babies, I was not moving my arms nor legs. After speaking to different doctors, I was finally diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Spastic Quadriplegia, a disability that affects my four limbs, due to a brain injury at birth. 

There have been times in my life where things got complicated, but despite that, I kept pushing forward to be the best I could be. There are people who think that because I have a disability that I need special accommodations for everything or I won’t rise to the occasion, and that’s not true. There are also people who support and believe in me and the things that I can do. 

Lindsey Becker is an Entertainment Journalist currently living in Tennessee. Lindsey is a wheelchair user who was born with Spina Bifida. Growing up, she was on the first ever "wheelcheerleading" and dance team and through her involvement in the Spina Bifida community and being a participant of the ABLE Youth program, she had opportunities to travel all over the country at a very young age. She went on to study Early Childhood Education at Middle Tennessee State University.

In 2007, Lindsey met her husband, Wes, in a very “meant to be” way, and they began their life together in middle Tennessee. Wes is a medically retired Marine Corps veteran who is also a wheelchair user due to a motorcycle accident. Although they had met one other time in 2005 shortly after Wes’ accident, fate intervened again and they were reintroduced through Lindsey’s roommate who just happened to be a friend of Wes’ too. Lindsey and Wes married in 2009.

By Tabassum Chagani

I am the youngest of three siblings, and grew up in a large, multi-generational house in Karachi, Pakistan. I immigrated to Canada in 1994 and have lived in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia since then.

My dad had a very entrepreneurial spirit. In Canada, we think nothing of popping into a Loblaw’s or Safeway for groceries, but a large western-style supermarket was a very novel concept in Pakistan, in the 1990s. He was the first one to start a self-serve supermarket in Karachi. I strongly believe that I have inherited my fathers’ entrepreneurial spirit; I hope so. I have enrolled in the Self-Employment Program at the BC Institute of Technology, and am working to establish my own Accessible Travel business. I am an Accessible Travel Specialist and work with a home based travel agency called Travel for All, Inc. 

Like other Pakistani children, at the time, I was also immunized for polio as a child by oral polio vaccine. I took the drops but contracted polio, nevertheless, at age one. It was either a bad batch or it was just not working. I still got polio. It started as a flu-like illness and, by the time the symptoms subsided, my mother found I didn’t want to move. The doctor said, “Well, it’s unfortunate, but your daughter’s been paralyzed in one leg by polio.”

By Tamara Mena

Behind the scenes - Photo by Chris Matysuk

By Lorraine Lolly Mack

Exactly 14 years ago, I was to walk out of my house for the very last time... I was going out for the night with my boyfriend at the time, Gianluca who was over from Italy. Earlier that day, I called my mom and said that I didn’t know what to do about going out as I wanted to take Gianluca to show him Brick Lane Market on the Sunday morning and I knew there was no chance of that if we went out partying!

We went out to meet my dear friends, Sam and Diana and their boyfriends too. We met them before going to the club for a few drinks and as usual were having a great night with lots of laughs.

To cut a long story short, we arrived at a nightclub and within approximately 20 minutes of being in there, I was dancing to my favorite song, at that time, “Lola’s Theme” by The Shapeshifters. It was that moment when tragedy struck. I felt a massive “thud” on my head and fell backwards with my head hitting the floor first.

Some of our MobileWOMEN from around the world have shared with us what living life in a wheelchair is like in their country. What you read about the differences or similarities between their stories and life in the United States might surprise you. In this installment, we interviewed Linda Brown.

Mobile Woman, Linda Brown

Please describe your disability?

I had a car accident in 2008 and broke my back at T12/L2. 
I have an incomplete spinal cord injury and use a wheelchair for mobility. I do have slight movement in my legs, especially the left leg and no bladder nor bowel control. I have a colostomy bag for my bowels and use pads or nappies (diapers) for my bladder. 

Please describe where you live? Are you in a city or rural location?

I live in a rural location in Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa with a population of just over 9,000.

Have you been able to receive, in your mind, adequate medical care in your area? Has the quality of medical care changed since the onset of your disability?

Medical care in private hospitals are adequately prepared but not the state hospitals. They are always out of medication or colostomy bags. Medical care has not improved at all, since my disability. 

With regard to wheelchairs, durable medical equipment and medical supplies, do you have access to items suitable for your needs?

I do not have access to proper medical equipment because of the high prices demanded for wheelchairs etc. 

In terms of accessibility needs, what are your living arrangements? Is your home modified  for your needs, and do you feel like you're able to live as independently as possible?

Linda and her daughter, Chante

Andrea Dalzell

Meet the set of wheels that is taking New York by storm! Andrea Dalzell is the newest member of the nursing community, and a pioneering activist for people with disabilities. She is a force to be reckoned with, and has emerged victorious against all the obstacles in her path. 
Transverse Myelitis left her paralyzed at the age of 12, but she did not allow her disability to become or define her.

By Emily Ann Hupe

Karen Fiera (with PICC line)

By Emily Ann Hupe


When I walked into the hospital for my scheduled c-section on November 17, 2004, I had no idea that those would be the last steps that I would ever take, as an able bodied mom. A rare complication during my procedure, caused a bruise on my spinal cord at T 11-12. I had no feeling from the hips down on my right side, some feeling on the left and no bowel or bladder control. I was now a full-time wheelchair user. Waiting at home for me, were my 6 other children ages: 11, 9, 7, 5, 4 and 2. I had no idea that cold November morning, as I stared down at the perfect face of my youngest child that the next 12 years would nearly destroy our beautiful little family.

By Katherine Magnoli

 

Tracy Schmitt, humanitarian, advocate & award winning athlete

By Kirsy Rodriguez

By Kara Aiello

By Tamara Mena


Some things have happened in my career in Los Angeles months ago, and as a result, I found myself feeling so disappointed and frustrated.

I knew what I wanted to do, and that was to host, to interview people, to make a difference with my communications degree, and to make a difference with my voice - the voice that I'm so lucky to have gained back after I lost it during my accident...

It was tough because I knew I wanted to move forward, but wasn't sure how to go about it. I wasn't going to give up on the reason that I moved out here to LA for.... But that process was never easy, far from easy!

When "See Beyond" was born, I didn't have the name yet, just the concept. This online show that I was about to produce, was seriously born from seeing beyond my circumstances at the time, seeing beyond the discrimination and the resistance I had faced - just seriously seeing BEYOND MYSELF and "my story" and wanting to highlight OTHER PEOPLE so that TOGETHER we can encourage people to see past DIFFERENCES and become more open and accepting of each other!

by Kara Aiello