Facing Disability for Families Facing Spinal Cord Injuries

Facing Disability for Families Facing Spinal Cord Injuries A spinal cord injury affects the entire family. Our mission is to connect families dealing with paralysis with others just like them.

Like many projects of this nature, FacingDisability.com was born out of personal experience. In the summer of 1986, after diving into a swimming pool, our daughter, Vicki Hill, sustained a neck injury resulting in quadriplegia. During her rehabilitation, Vicki was fortunate to be able to participate in a peer- mentoring program. The program introduced her to other people who had sustained injuries

like hers a few years before. They helped her learn how to think about her disability and live with her new body. They offered a lot more than well-meaning help and advice. They were the undeniably believable and unquestionably honest voices of experience. And they were an enormous help. But there was no peer-mentoring program to help her parents, family and friends to deal with the new life situations that they themselves were experiencing as a result of Vicki’s sudden disability. There is still virtually nothing today—no program focused on personally supporting the people around the injured person. What’s more, even today, there are many people with new spinal cord injuries like Vicki’s who are not able to participate in peer-mentoring programs. The lack of such programs is the reason behind FacingDisability.com.

New in our blog:Adaptive sailors from across the United States and Canada took to Lake Michigan in Chicago for the 34th ...
08/13/2026

New in our blog:
Adaptive sailors from across the United States and Canada took to Lake Michigan in Chicago for the 34th annual Independence Cup. Watch highlights from the nation’s premier and longest-running adaptive sailing regatta.

Competitors met on Chicago's Lake Michigan July 23–26 for the 34th annual Independence Cup, the nation's longest-running adaptive sailing regatta.

New Podcast Episode: One week away at summer camp changed Angela's whole vision of how she could handle her future. , ,...
07/20/2026

New Podcast Episode:
One week away at summer camp changed Angela's whole vision of how she could handle her future.
, , Facing Disability for Families Facing Spinal Cord Injuries

One week away at summer camp changed Angela's whole vision of how s...

From our blog: The review provides a long-term view of changing SCI demographics, causes, and injury severity worldwide....
04/30/2026

From our blog: The review provides a long-term view of changing SCI demographics, causes, and injury severity worldwide.





Facing Disability for Families Facing Spinal Cord Injuries

A systematic review in Spinal Cord of 27 studies (1943–2022) shows the typical spinal cord injury (SCI) patient is now 45–65 years old.

03/12/2026

Rob: They made fun of me in the hospital.’
Rob explains why those friends meant everything after his spinal cord injury.

Facing Disability for Families Facing Spinal Cord Injuries

From our Blog: S*x and intimacy after paralysis finally have a space—MetroHealth’s one-of-a-kind “sex lab” opens in Clev...
02/05/2026

From our Blog: S*x and intimacy after paralysis finally have a space—MetroHealth’s one-of-a-kind “sex lab” opens in Cleveland.

Facing Disability for Families Facing Spinal Cord Injuries

Last summer, MetroHealth in Cleveland launched the Adaptive Intimacy Lab on its inpatient SCI unit,

From our Blog: A special blood screening measures biomarkers that are released when spinal cord tissue is damaged.
01/27/2026

From our Blog: A special blood screening measures biomarkers that are released when spinal cord tissue is damaged.

A new blood test may give doctors an early read on how a spinal cord injury could affect movement and sensation.

ADMIN APPROVED:Help Improve Home & Community-Based Services (HCBS)Researchers at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab want people who...
01/27/2026

ADMIN APPROVED:
Help Improve Home & Community-Based Services (HCBS)
Researchers at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab want people who receive HCBS to test short surveys about their services.

What’s involved:
Quick screening call by phone or Zoom (unpaid)
Two or more 10-minute surveys (online, phone, or Zoom)
$30 per survey, plus $40 for follow-ups
Complete up to 6 surveys for $200 total
Interested?
Take the screener: https://redcap.link/hcbsquality
Questions? Email: [email protected]

Funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (IRB #: STU00214517)

12/31/2025
After a spinal cord injury, finding information you can trust is not always easy. That is why this page exists.You’ll he...
12/23/2025

After a spinal cord injury, finding information you can trust is not always easy. That is why this page exists.

You’ll hear directly from people living with paralysis, sharing in their own words how they navigate daily life, adapt, and cope, alongside reliable SCI resources you can trust.

We believe real voices matter. We believe accuracy matters. And we believe this information should always be free and accessible.

If you are here to learn, listen, or feel less alone, you are in the right place.

FacingDisability.com offers real-life stories and expert medical videos about living with spinal cord injury.

From our blog: For people living with spinal cord injuries, service dogs can be life-changing partners contributing to a...
12/16/2025

From our blog: For people living with spinal cord injuries, service dogs can be life-changing partners contributing to a stronger sense of autonomy and control.

For people living with spinal cord injuries, service dogs can be life-changing partners.

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737 N Michigan Avenue, Ste 1560
Chicago, IL
60611

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+13122842525

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