Nerve Matters Blog
Welcome to NervGen’s Nerve Matters Blog. First and foremost, you should know that this space isn’t about the science – I’m going to leave that to the people who actually understand the science. This blog is about the story – well, stories.
Every company has a story. But the narrative that shares how a company is built and how a company is born often offer two vastly different perspectives. Pharmaceutical companies, like this one, are built inside laboratories on the shoulders of scientists and advancements in technology along with the business savvy minds of entrepreneurs. But they are born out of purpose. We want to show you our purpose – the reasons behind the science.
When we talk about disease and injury, we often focus on the facts and disconnect from anything personal. But there is a real person behind every diagnosis – with an arsenal of memories and plans for the future. They have families and friends. They parent, go to work, socialize, exercise and binge-watch Netflix, all while simultaneously managing the ongoing symptoms and residual effects of their conditions. Let us tell you their stories.
Keep exploring this blog to meet the people and understand the conditions that motivate this company.
– Codi Darnell
The Perks and Pitfalls of Accessible Parking
“I’m only in it for the parking.” 👩🦽 Whether it’s written on a t-shirt or a bumper sticker, it’s an easy joke for many of us in the disabled community to make. When you enter a packed parking lot and see an empty spot with that bright blue square featuring a white wheelchair stick figure, it can absolutely feel like a perk. Read more …
The Cost of Disability
The monthly budget – while I love a good spreadsheet (seriously, I’m a bit of a nerd), this one is not it. If my computer was an attic, my Monthly Budget spreadsheet would be loose in the back of a binder, the three holes ripped open long ago, and that binder would be in a box in the corner covered by a layer of dust and toys nobody plays with anymore. Read more …
Expanding the Status Quo – Diversifying Mainstream Media
It’s October – the month of pumpkin spice, Canadian Thanksgiving and Halloween. While pumpkin spice is the highlight for me, for the three kids in our house, it’s Halloween. And the search for the perfect costume started early. It was possibly still September when I ventured onto Party City’s website for inspiration, but before I could even start my search, … Read more …
The Outdoor Diaries: Climbing Mountains and Removing Barriers with Nick Allen
Motivation comes in many forms. What inspires one person to overcome their obstacles may do nothing for the next. For instance, the thought of climbing a steep rock face that towers thousands of metres above me makes me want to crawl into bed and never come out. Read more …
A Glimpse into the Paralympics
The Olympic rings – it is an easily identifiable symbol that signifies the continents coming together to compete at the Olympic Games. But this iconic image says more than that. Without using any words, the interlocking circles are known worldwide to represent strength, competition, and athleticism at the highest level. Read more …
Chasing Dreams After Disability – Meet The Stubborn Baker
How many people can look at their chosen career and say “I chased my dream”? For someone with a disability, breaking into the working world can be a challenge at the best of times, but chasing a dream that’s been labelled “not for you” has the potential to truly break someone. Read more …
Peer Support and Spinal Cord Injury: A Look at the Documentary “Re-Inventing the Wheel”
People come into our lives at different times for different reasons. We connect with them based on mutual interests or shared experiences, forming relationships that help us to feel less alone in the world. Mothers need other mothers, fathers need other fathers, and people with spinal cord injuries (“SCI”) need other people with spinal cord injuries. Read more …
Train Airline Staff to Understand the Value of a Mobility Device and Maybe Then They’ll Stop Damaging Our Wheelchairs
Like so many people, I haven’t seen the inside of an airplane since before COVID became a household name. Even those who were ready and willing to jet off during the pandemic were met with the unwelcome reality that air travel was not accessible to them, that it was only for a select few whose travel plans were deemed essential. Read more …
The Outdoor Diaries: Andy McKenna, Multiple Sclerosis and Mountain Biking
There is nothing like a diagnosis (of any kind) to remind you that you are not in complete control of your life. But where there is no control, there is choice. While we don’t have the ability to cover ourselves in forcefields that protect us from disease and injury, we have the ability to choose how we cope with such things. Read more …
One Year of Stroke Recovery
There are many ways we humans mark the passing of another year – birthdays, anniversaries, and the actual shift of the calendar on New Year’s Eve, just to name just a few. These celebrations frequently pass with reflections of the lives we lived in the previous 365 days, days that often blur together with routine and don’t always feel different than the days and years that passed before them. Other years, however, feel more significant. Read more …
The Outdoor Diaries: Rediscovering a Love of the Ocean – A Story of Adapted Surfing
Imagine your favourite place – the spot where you find solace and feel like the best version of yourself. It is the space you retreat to when life turns sideways and you need to regroup – to take a breath and sort through the noise in your head. Read more …
Life, Love and Alzheimer’s – A Daughter’s Perspective
The dynamic of a child-parent relationship is one that shifts many times over a lifetime. It twists and turns as children become adults and parents go from hero to human. Read more …
The Outdoor Diaries: Handcycling Into the Forest
The world is full of natural wonders we don’t expect to see in our lifetime. Even the most dedicated of outdoor enthusiasts can’t see every mountain, ocean or forest that stretches around the earth’s surface. But for someone with mobility issues, the outdoor environment in your own backyard can feel just as unattainable as one on the other side of the world. Read more …
Adding Diverse Voices to the MS Conversation
Inclusion, diversity, representation – these words are everywhere. We are living through a time of social change where people of all backgrounds are not only working to be seen and accepted but are being sought out to give their perspectives. From POC and those in the LGBTQ+ community to individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions, our stories are … Read more …
The Outdoor Diaries: Hiking With MS
Why do we go outside? There is a lot of research that tells us about the benefits of being outdoors. It’s a stress reducer and a mood booster, it helps to relieve anxiety and increase focus and has even shown to have positive impacts on blood pressure and immune systems. But most recently, getting outside has been a lifeline. Read More …
Creating a Community: Meet the WAGS of SCI
April 13, 2021
Every relationship has its quirky irregularities that feel unique to a couple. But when the inner-workings of your partnership go beyond small, unconventional differences – such as when your partner has a spinal cord injury – it can become isolating. You turn to Google, typing in questions to help you find someone who gets it, someone who can prove to you that you aren’t alone. Read More …
Mobility Aids: Erasing the Stigma
The first wheelchair I sat in was bright yellow, covered in duct tape and, judging by its size, meant for a large man. As it turns out, most wheelchairs stocked inside a hospital storage room aren’t waiting for someone 5’2” tall. My feet hung down but didn’t make contact with the footrest, and the entire thing was heavy making it difficult for my newly injured body to propel. Read More …
Balancing Marriage and Multiple Sclerosis: A Couple Takes on MS
Once upon a time, two people with multiple sclerosis (MS) fell in love and lived happily ever after. As Dan and Jennifer say on their website, A Couple Takes on MS, movie writers would never dream up that fairy tale. But real-life love stories, like this one, trump any fairy tale I’ve ever heard. Read More …
Oh Hello Alzheimer’s – A Caregiver Spotlight
March 2, 2021
Photo credit: Daniel Brehant Photography
Lisa and Peter Marshall have a love story that spans 20 years. For eight of those years, they sustained a long-distance relationship so as not to disrupt their children’s lives – crossing states to see each other every weekend they could manage. Read More …
Perspective is a New Diagnosis
February 16, 2021
It only takes a few words to tip a life onto its axis. , “You have [insert your diagnosis here]”.
Whether it’s your own condition or that of a loved one, suddenly life has a definitive before and after.
Read More …
