Mark is a strong Patient Advocate. According to Mark: “My quadriplegia would be taking me on a path I would not have found as a bi-ped.”
Mark was appointed to the City of Olathe’s Persons with Disabilities Advisory Board (PDAB). (click here) The PDAB Board Members, appointed by the Olathe City Council, serve as liaisons between the Human Relations Commission and the disabled citizens of Olathe. Mark has served the community as a voice for the disabled since 2006. Mark mentors others with spinal cord injuries with the Christopher and Dana Reeves Foundation click here with the Central Plains division.
Through Mark’s appointed position on the City of Olathe’s Persons with Disabilities Advisory Board Mark is responsible for organizing a stop in Olathe for a national organization called, The Ability Experience (click here) a group whose goal is to raise funds and awareness for people with disabilities. The group from The Ability Experience tours the country every summer on bicycles and has made Olathe, Kansas an annual stopping point.
As a Patient Advocate, Mark began working with the newly injured and their families on life in a wheelchair. He gives home tours and shares ideas about home remodeling, patient care, equipment purchases, the benefit of post-injury exercise and personal living tips.
The following attachments are items that Mark has found most helpful in transitioning to life in a wheelchair. Some are found online, others are short-cuts to life and there are a few of his own creations with directions on how to make them yourselves. He is not paid for product endorsements nor is he liable for its application or function. He just shares the list to give you ideas on living more comfortably and independently.