BACKBONES

BACKBONES BACKBONES exists to help people with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D) and their families connect with their communities.

🧠🧡 Mental health and SCI/D are closely connected. Research shows that community and peer support can protect mental heal...
05/29/2026

🧠🧡 Mental health and SCI/D are closely connected. Research shows that community and peer support can protect mental health, helping reduce isolation and support emotional well-being after injury.🧡🧠

At Backbones, community means connection, understanding, and showing up for one another. This Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re celebrating the power of community. 💜🧡💚



Source: “Community participation and mental health after spinal cord injury.” (PubMed Central)

🚙☀️Adaptive Hacks: Tips for Traveling with Medical Supplies 🕶️✈️Summer travel season is almost here! Whether you’re plan...
05/23/2026

🚙☀️Adaptive Hacks: Tips for Traveling with Medical Supplies 🕶️✈️

Summer travel season is almost here! Whether you’re planning a big trip or a quick getaway, preparation can make all the difference. A little extra planning helps reduce stress and makes space for what really matters: enjoying the journey.

Swipe for tips to help you travel smarter, feel prepared, and move through summer travel with confidence.

🌎What are your favorite accessible travel tips or adaptive hacks? 🌎

We’re headed into summer, which makes now the perfect time to plant your flower in our garden.Each flower is planted to ...
05/20/2026

We’re headed into summer, which makes now the perfect time to plant your flower in our garden.

Each flower is planted to represent a donation from the BACKBONES community. These donations help us fund our various programs. The first flowers planted celebrate our Leaders Program participants, who have almost completed the program. Soon, this year’s Summer Youth Program will begin, and each new flower planted will celebrate them.

To donate, go to backbonesonline.org/donate and select which flower you would like to see more of in our garden! Each one contributes to our organization in meaningful ways.

🚨 TODAY'S THE DAY!Tonight we're talking about one of the biggest milestones after SCI/D — getting back behind the wheel!...
05/20/2026

🚨 TODAY'S THE DAY!

Tonight we're talking about one of the biggest milestones after SCI/D — getting back behind the wheel! 🚗💨

Join us TONIGHT at 5:30 PM CDT for our PeerConnect event: Returning to Driving After SCI/D ♿

Featuring two amazing speakers who are ready to share their expertise and experience with YOU!

⏰ Don't wait — register now and we'll see you tonight! 👇
🔗 https://buff.ly/ULrkx8W

05/15/2026

🌸 Backbones Blooms 🌸

This April and May, we are growing something together: a garden rooted in growth, resilience, connection, and community. Every bloom represents the ways we show up for one another.

The first flowers in our garden celebrate our Leaders Program participants, whose program wraps up next week. We are so proud of the confidence, leadership, and personal growth they have cultivated this year. Congratulations to each of you, we cannot wait to see where your goals take you next.

New blooms are just beginning too. We have officially selected our Youth Program participants, and their journey starts in mid-June. Stay tuned as we share more and watch this next generation grow.

Our programs help people build confidence, find community, and discover what is possible after spinal cord injury and disability. You help make that growth happen.

🌼 Every donation plants a flower in our garden.
🌼 Every bloom reflects shared growth.

Help us keep the garden growing by planting a flower today:
https://www.backbonesonline.org/donate

✈️ New airplane seat designs could change accessible travel ✈️Airbus and Collins Aerospace are testing new aircraft seat...
05/14/2026

✈️ New airplane seat designs could change accessible travel ✈️

Airbus and Collins Aerospace are testing new aircraft seating systems that would allow wheelchair users to stay in their own chair during flights, instead of transferring to a plane seat.

The designs include secure wheelchair restraint systems built directly into the cabin layout, aiming to make air travel safer, easier, and more dignified for disabled passengers.

It’s still in the testing phase, but it’s a meaningful step toward more accessible air travel.

🔗 Read more: New Mobility, “Testing Two New Seat Designs That Will Let You Fly in Your Wheelchair” (John Morris, April 2026) ()

🚨Meet Our Second Speaker!Joining Chris Hrabik for our PeerConnect event Returning to Driving After SCI/D is our second i...
05/12/2026

🚨Meet Our Second Speaker!

Joining Chris Hrabik for our PeerConnect event Returning to Driving After SCI/D is our second incredible guest speaker!

Nicole Thonn, OTR/L, CDRS is a Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist with Strive for Independence, bringing clinical expertise on adaptive equipment, the driver rehab process, and everything you need to know about getting back behind the wheel safely and confidently.

Two amazing perspectives.

One powerful conversation.

You don't want to miss this one!

📅Returning to Driving After SCI/D on May 20th at 5:30 PM CDT via Zoom
🔗 Register here: https://www.backbonesonline.org/events-1/returning-to-driving-after-sci-d

May is Mental Health Awareness Month: a reminder that mental health is an important part of life after sustaining a Spin...
05/12/2026

May is Mental Health Awareness Month: a reminder that mental health is an important part of life after sustaining a Spinal Cord Injury.

The emotional impact of SCI looks different for everyone. There is no right or wrong way to navigate these challenges. What matters most is giving our mental health the same attention and care that we give our physical health.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, we want to remind the SCI community that support, rest, honesty, and vulnerability deserve space too.


Look what’s growing 🌸We’ve officially raised $2,025 for BACKBONES Blooms, and every flower in this garden represents som...
05/09/2026

Look what’s growing 🌸

We’ve officially raised $2,025 for BACKBONES Blooms, and every flower in this garden represents someone who chose to support connection, care, and disability community.

Watching this grow has honestly been really moving.

BACKBONES started from a need for connection, and over the years it’s become a space where people with spinal cord injuries and disabilities can find community, leadership, support, and belonging.

If you’d like to help us continue growing this garden, we’d love to have you be part of it 🌿
https://www.backbonesonline.org/donate

🚗 Meet Our First Speaker!We are thrilled to introduce one of the voices joining us for our upcoming PeerConnect event! 🏁...
05/07/2026

🚗 Meet Our First Speaker!

We are thrilled to introduce one of the voices joining us for our upcoming PeerConnect event!

🏁 Chris Hrabik is a competitive rally car driver, metal fabricator, and wheelchair user who is actively developing an adaptive driving school in southeast Missouri; designed specifically for drivers who use adaptive controls. Chris brings lived experience and serious horsepower to this conversation, and we cannot wait for you to hear from him!

📅Returning to Driving After SCI/D, on May 20th at 5:30 PM CDT via Zoom!
🔗 Register here: https://www.backbonesonline.org/events-1/returning-to-driving-after-sci-d
Stay tuned — we'll be introducing our next guest speaker very soon! 👀

🩺Happy National Nurses Day! 🩺Today we recognize and appreciate the incredible work nurses do every day. Your dedication,...
05/06/2026

🩺Happy National Nurses Day! 🩺

Today we recognize and appreciate the incredible work nurses do every day. Your dedication, compassion, and commitment make a difference in countless lives, often in ways that go unseen.

Thank you for the care you provide, the comfort you offer, and the impact you make in communities everywhere. We see you, and we appreciate you! 💜

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P. O. Box 7334
Prospect Heights, IL
60070

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