From Partial Paralysis To Personal Trainer
Lewis was forced to give up his passion for sports when he began suffering from a rare brain condition at age 14. Journey to personal trainer
Whatever you like to do in your free time, there’s probably a story here about it. Read about paralympians, summer hacks, kayaking & so much more!
Getting To Grips With Powerlifting
After yet another awesome Instagram tag, we have been in contact with Kaitlin, a 28 year old lady from Pittsburgh, USA; who, in the space of only a couple of years, has gone from barely being able to use her left hand, to a fully fledged fitness and powerlifting enthusiast. She recently acquired an Active Hands General Purpose gripping aid and has already noticed the huge difference it has made to her fitness routine and what she is now capable of achieving in the gym. This is her story… Kaitlin was born with cerebral palsy, severely affecting the left side…
Kayak-tive Hands!
We were recently tagged on Instagram by athlete Jillian Elwart, who was using her Active Hands General Purpose gripping aid to take on the wild white water rapids of Arkansas, North America. Through several messages back and forth, we discovered that, on top of being a mother, dog owner and paediatric prosthetist, Jillian was also something of a prodigy on the kayaking scene, and that Active Hands had played a small, yet vital, role in her rapid rise towards the top of competitive kayaking. This is her story… Jillian was born in 1983 in Little Rock, the capital city of…
Adapt and Conquer!
Philippa shares a flat with a housemate on the outskirts of London, and loves running, hiking, dancing and seeing friends. In her early thirties Philippa found herself returning home from hospital after losing her fingers. She was so relieved that the pain had ended that she hadn’t even considered the impact this new disability would have on her life. She so loves being active that she went on a cycling holiday in France in between operations on her hand! When her surgery was done, she had lost three fingers and part of her palm on her left hand and two…
High hopes for England’s Strongest Disabled Man.
Adam (thecpsavage) is a 30 year old from North West England with Cerebral Palsy. He can be found listening to rock music, binge watching TV shows, or playing playstation. But mostly, he enjoys lifting heavy things. Very heavy things. How does your cerebral palsy affect you? Adam has Cerebral Palsy (left sided hemiplegia). He explains, “it affects my balance on stairs, I can’t ride a bike, or run fast, that sort of thing.” However, the main area that is affected is his left arm, which lacks muscle mass and grip strength as well as being shorter than his right arm,…
‘Against All Odds’ – Active Hands featured on Unilad
Kate Farley, known as ‘Girl boxer with CP’, is one determined athlete. Keen to train hard and push her boundaries, Kate met with personal trainer, Matthew Furnell. She quickly showed an interest in boxing and together they adapted their workouts to develop her passion, with their eyes set firmly on the Paralympics. Kate uses a wide range of gym equipment to complement her training and is able to access this thanks to her General Purpose gripping aids. On her instagram account (GirlboxerwithCP), Kate explains, “Love pushing my abilities to discover different pieces of apparatus I can go on. Again, this…
Going for Goals – Alex Turley
Alex Turley embodies all that we at Active Hands strive for; determined, strong-willed and very, very active! Alex is a 26 year old from Essex who is currently following her interest in animals by studying for an equine science degree. Not content with just studying however, Alex also trains and competes in horse-riding (including dressage), swimming, wheelchair racing and regularly completes weights-based workouts in the gym. Born prematurely, Alex’s doctors hypothesise that some of her neuropathic pathways did not fully form: a condition so rare, it remains unnamed. As a teenager, Alex lost the use of her left arm and…
Taking action
Oksana is the person behind Association Kondor – a website that aims to provide detailed information to assist disabled people in planning their travels. We spoke with her about her own disability, rehabilitation and how her new outlook has led her to create her website. In 2013, after sustaining a rare kind of spinal cord injury resulting in tetraplegia, Oksana found herself facing a new world of disability; “My family and I found ourselves alone against the medical world; alone with our questioning and alone in the process of adapting to the constraints of everyday life.” Passionate about dancing, she…
Finding your own way
Anne-Marie describes her 8 year old daughter with well-deserved pride and here at Active Hands we love reading about our customers’ inventiveness and determination.
Rediscovering a lost passion; Daniel’s story
As a child, Daniel was a keen BMX rider and enjoyed the thrill of competing. His achievements came to an end after nerve damage left him unable to hold the handlebars. 30 years later, Daniel has rediscovered his passion, with the help of Active Hands, and is now fulfilling his childhood ambitions. “Hello, my name is Daniel Steele. I’m 49 years old and I’m from Nashville. I’d like to share a story with you. In my youth, up until around 16 years old, I was a competitive, die hard, bicycle rider. In the discipline of BMX, I travelled the country…
