The QuadCast
My name is John McAleavey, and on August 19, 1992 I suffered a Central Cord Syndrome injury to my cervical spine at the C-3/4 level following a fall down my basement steps. I was told early on that no two SCI’s are the same, and while that may be true, many of the struggles we're left with are. So let's talk about them. The QuadCast Podcast is mainly aimed at the disabled community, but is really for ANYONE looking to be inspired. You'll hear from fellow SCI'ers, to highlight their personal stories of struggle and triumph, doctors, therapists, and others who work on behalf of our community to share any new developments or breakthroughs in the fight. I hope that by talking/sharing/commiserating/LAUGHING, we will fully understand that no one is alone in this. Think of the QuadCast as a 30 to 45 minute session of OT/PT for the soul!
Episodes
October 11, 2023 • 58 mins
Touchdown Aaron!
In my capacity as the Peer Mentoring Coordinator at Kessler Institute For Rehabilitation, I have had the opportunity to meet many people. Over my three years on the job however, Aaron Van Trease, and the tremendous strides he's made in recovery, has stood out above them all. His story is remarkable. It is one of football, family, friends, faith, and above all, FORTITUDE!
Aaron was kind enough to carve some tim...
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August 19, 2023 • 57 mins
August 19, 2023 marks exactly 31 years for us on the SCI magical mystery tour. In honor of that, I thought I'd channel my inner Casey Kasem and spin some records that have, for one reason or another, stood out for me along the journey.
So many songs to choose from over 3 decades, but I narrowed it down to 9. Because it has been anything but a stroll in the park, some of the songs/messages are a little heavy. The lyrics however ...
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July 15, 2023 • 61 mins
My fellow SCI survivor and thriver, Tracey Iraca, is back! Yes, she's here to tell us how she's making out these days. As you'll recall, on her last day as an in-patient at Kessler Institute, Tracey joined me to tell her story (S3 E8). It was late December 2022, she was eager to return home, but had some concerns as well.
In a new format for me/us here at the QuadCast, the "New Tracey" chronicles the next step in her journey......
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June 8, 2023 • 48 mins
Amanda Parezo is currently an assistant professor and academic fieldwork coordinator for the Occupational Therapy department at Thomas Jefferson University. Having graduated from TJU's OT program in 2010, she worked clinically for over 10 years, specifically with older adults and those with traumatic brain injuries.
Unfortunately, on May 19, 2021, she was the victim of a random act of gun violence while sitting in a Philadelphia ...
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May 23, 2023 • 48 mins
Jen French is a very busy woman! She is an author/publisher, paralympian, public speaker, sailor, super advocate, founder of the North American Spinal Cord Injury Consortium, Neurotech Network, and more. As if that were not enough, she is also my guest on this week's edition of the QuadCast!
Following her spinal cord injury in a 1998 snowboarding accident, Jen has been paying it forward for the SCI community in a myriad of meaning...
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May 15, 2023 • 62 mins
It is with great pride that I post this week's episode of The QuadCast. My guest is Dan Rose, a veteran who was paralyzed from the waist down when an IED destroyed the truck he was riding in in Southern Afghanistan (2010)
This would not have been possible were it not for the help of two very kind, good people, Martha MacCallum and Christopher Meek. Ms. MacCallum is host of "The Story With Martha MacCallum" on Fox News Channel, a...
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April 27, 2023 • 54 mins
Mark Fuglevand founded Abilitease a few years ago with the vision of developing product solutions for individuals with disabilities. He makes products that not only help people become more independent, but makes them appealing and not institutional.
Mark is married, has two boys, and lives in Southern California. Did I mention he is also a C-5 incomplete quad? Well, if that wasn't enough, Mark is my guest on this week's QuadCast...
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April 20, 2023 • 62 mins
At 27, Kelsey Peterson dove into Lake Superior, off the shores of Wisconsin, and emerged paralyzed. Suddenly living a new life, the former dancer struggled to redefine who she is while adapting to life with a disability.
Kelsey is a smart, very deep thinker and I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with her, about among other things, her autobiographical film Move Me. In the documentary, that took 5 years to film, she chronicle...
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February 28, 2023 • 58 mins
I had the absolute pleasure speaking with Jerod and Hanna Nieder for this week's episode of the QuadCast, and I think after our hour-long conversation you will love them as much as I do!
The Nieders story is really 3 in one. What began as the result of a tragedy (Jerod's SCI), has through the life they live helping others in the community (Jerod's work in spinal stimulation trials and Hanna's peer mentoring of patients and their f...
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January 20, 2023 • 51 mins
Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D. is a powerful, internationally recognized expert, speaker, author, consultant, CEO and Founder of Rossetti Enterprises LLC, a Disability-Owned Business through Disability: IN. since January 1997.
Known for her Universal Design and Green Building Expertise, she and her husband, Mark led the design team, were the general
contractors/builders, and since May 2012 have lived in the Universal Design Living Lab...
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December 27, 2022 • 51 mins
Ali Ingersoll has packed a lot into her 38 years! As a child her family moved every 2 years, so she lived in many different places (Germany, France, Miami, Los Angeles, and more). The Bahamas however were their home base. Following high school she went to China where she stayed for a while before coming back to the states for college (Occidental and University of Miami).
Unfortunately while back in The Bahamas, Ali injured her s...
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December 20, 2022 • 43 mins
While the weather outside is frightful, today's episode of the podcast will be insightful, and it will certainly warm your heart. That is because my friend, Tracey Iraca, is my guest. She was injured in an accident that you will have to hear her describe for yourself to believe, and yet in her four-month stay as an inpatient at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, I never once heard her ask "why me"?
Tracey was discharged last w...
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October 7, 2022 • 53 mins
Jason Keatseangsilp grew up playing tennis in the sweltering heat of Arizona. He enjoyed the game so much that he was looking to play it collegiately. Unfortunately, in his senior year of high school (2011) he suffered a spinal cord injury following a fall.
The T11-12 complete paraplegic picked up the pieces however, along with his tennis racquet again. After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in Biomedical...
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September 26, 2022 • 55 mins
Kevin Hoagland suffered a spinal cord injury in 1978, one year after graduating from St. Peter's High School. However, the C 4/5 quadriplegic has not it hold him back one bit. Kevin credits his family for instilling in him the compulsion to help others, and he's been doing just that in many different ways for years.
As the Chairman of New Brunswick, NJ's Mayor's Committee for a Barrier Free town since 1988, he has been instrumen...
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August 19, 2022 • 43 mins
30 years is a long time. It is 10,957.27 days, 1,565.33 weeks, 360 months, 262,974.6 hours, 15,778,476 minutes, and 946,708,560 seconds. But who's counting?
Me!
That's because as of today, August 19, 2022, it's exactly how long I have been living with my spinal cord injury. And in honor of that, I decided to interview me, myself, and I. It is not as easy as it sounds, and I apologize if it rambles on.
So, sit right back and yo...
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August 8, 2022 • 40 mins
Season 3 Episode 4 of the QuadCast features a new segment which I am calling: "In the Friend's Zone". My inaugural guest is Scott Matalevich, a gentleman I met through my peer counseling position at Kessler. We had the opportunity to chat this past 97° Saturday afternoon, and I hope you enjoy the conversation.
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August 1, 2022 • 51 mins
In 2004, at the age of 18, Josh Basile was paralyzed below the shoulders in a beach accident. Today, he is a C4-5 quadriplegic, power wheelchair user, medical malpractice lawyer, and disabilities rights advocate serving persons both in the courtroom and through policy initiatives. He is a community leader and changemaker who works tirelessly to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and to continuously break dow...
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June 15, 2022 • 48 mins
On Black Friday, November 23, 2001 at 2:00 in the afternoon, Jeanine Valenti kissed her 3 young children goodbye and headed off to a colleague's mother's wake. Unbeknownst to her, a driver on the other side of the road had fallen asleep at the wheel, causing him to cross traffic and t-bone her car. Jeanine's irresponsibly engineered SUV flipped leaving her a C6-C7 quadriplegic.
She spent 1 month in the ICU followed by 4 months a...
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June 3, 2022 • 53 mins
Following a presentation at USC from Mark Cuban and Mark Burnett (Shark Tank), Trojans freshman Anthony Zhang, pitched his business, EnvoyNow. The delivery startup capitalizing on the neglected college market impressed the sharks enough to invest $100,000 for 10% of the business. Soon after, The Thiel Foundation offered him an additional $100,000 to drop out of school and focus on EnvoyNow full time. Life was great, or so it seeme...
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May 7, 2022 • 54 mins
Reveca Torres is an artist, photographer, costume designer, illustrator, and C-5/7 spinal cord injury survivor and thriver since the age of 13 following a car accident in 1994. In 2009 she, Veronica Gott, Patricia Mikicic and Annie Gonzalez founded BACKBONES, a non profit organization whose mission is to help people with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D) and their families connect with their communities. They do this by creati...
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