Stand Up & Buckle Up

Stand Up Sunday...

And Buckle Up Everyday

Today is stand up Sunday- a day to stand for what we believe in. A day that Dustin takes to work towards his goals of walking again. 

Buckle up everyday... Dustin wasn't buckled up and his life change in an instant. Dustin was lucky, though paralyzed from the chest down, he lived through his vehicle accident. Not everyone is so lucky, over 21,000 people died in auto accidents (in 2014). Buckling up saves lives. When Dustin was in his auto accident, he was not buckled up. Vehicle crashes are among the leading cause of deaths in Americans age 1-54 years old. 2.3 million drivers and passengers were injured in auto accidents (in 2014). More than half of the people in motor vehicle crashes who died in accidents (in 2014) were unrestrained. Young adults ages 18-24 are less likely to buckle up as are men and residents in non-metropolitan areas. States with secondary seat belt laws are even less likely to buckle up. How many lives would be different if we were to buckle up...everyday?

Dustin did not let his circumstances of paralysis keep him from moving forward. Dustin is standing up to make a difference for himself and others. Dustin leads a foundation focused on helping others and participates in a spinal cord study that allows a cutting edge medical device, epidural stimulator, implanted inside of him to a help him stand up and reduce the side effects of paralysis including poor circulation that leads to atrophy, decreased sexual function and bone density loss.

Dustin will be in Las Vegas, NV July 30th at the Unstuck 2.0 Conference sharing his story about moving forward and making a difference.  Purchase your ticket to hear Dustin and other great speakers share their stories as they stand up for what they believe in. Use code: Dustin at checkout. It's Stand Up Sunday- What are you gonna do?

Take a look at the new clothing line and order your DSF Gear Now!

Check out my video and learn more about what The Dustin Shillcox Foundation is all about. It's about improving the moment.

I can Turn Myself on... Watch the  video to see how the stimulator implanted inside of me works.

 Dustin Shillcox’s life drastically changed when he was in a car accident August 2010 and sustained major spinal cord damage, a broken upper arm, collapsed lungs, broken ribs, cracked sternum & mild brain injury. Dustin’s complete T-5 spinal cord injury (SCI) left him with no feeling below his mid-chest, causing paralysis from the chest down.

Now paralyzed, and living his life in a wheel chair, Dustin was told he would never again be able to move below his waist again, but after participating in a cutting edge SCI research project, at the University of Kentucky in Louisville, he is now able to move his legs and stand once again. Dustin is living his life to the fullest, sharing his story, journey of overcoming obstacles, and faith while raising funds for spinal cord research. Through his motivational speaking and the Dustin Shillcox Foundation, he is helping to improve the lives of people in wheelchairs.

Dustin delivers an inspiring message about never giving up, and the power of a positive attitude in his speech "What Are You Gonna Do Now?" Inquire about Dustin's availability to speak at your next business meeting, conference, charity event, school, church or graduation event. If you are looking to inspire your crowd to overcome personal challenges, and motivate into action, Dustin needs to be your next call! 307.870.6764

written by Nickel Lowman

Stand Up for Better Blood Flow

Stand Up Sunday...

Get the blood flowing. Once again it's Sunday. and everyday Dustin chooses to get out of this chair and work towards his goals of being able to walk again. Everyday he gets one day stronger. Everyday he gets one day closer to that goal. Today he's standing up for better blood flow.

Standing up is a big deal for a man with paralysis. Told he would never have feeling or movement below his chest, Dustin has proven doctors wrong.

There are may symptoms paraplegics deal with such as poor circulation, decreased sexual function, and bone density loss. Last week we spoke about one of the symptoms connected to paralysis, muscle atrophy; this week we wanted to share the challenges of a different symptom, lack of blood flow. 

Lack of blood flow and poor circulation, often known as Peripheral Artery Disease, are often associated with paralysis because a paraplegic can not move ones legs on their own and it narrows  and hardens the the arteries in the legs (known as Atherosclerosis), restricting blood flow and potentially leading to risks like stroke, and heart attacks. That's why a good cardiovascular workout is important. Proper movement helps prevent cardiovascular disease, a number one killer of Americans. Surviving a horrific accident was enough, who wants to think about cardiovascular disease.
 
Every day Dustin stands up to better himself and work with the epidural stimulator implanted into his body. By exercising and doing wheelchair workouts Dustin is working towards  preventing these debilitating symptoms and working on his cardiovascular health, and overall health, preparing his body for when there is a cure. Working towards a cure and standing up feels good. Each time Dustin stand, he uses a standing frame to help support his weigh and help with his balance. Dustin has a clothing line that raises funds to help others afford the necessary equipment, that allows him to stand up.  Dustin recently donated a standing frame to help others. 

...Dustin lives a lifestyle that uses his physical paralysis to create a new future and new perspective for something that was once painful. Dustin shares his inspiring story and successes on stages across America at events like the Salt Conference held earlier this year. We are excited to announce that Dustin will be in Las Vegas, as part of the Unstuck Conference, sponsored by Finding Your Happiness July 30th, 2016, where he will share the stage with John Polish, Dale Krause, Darren LaCroix, Rhonda Taylor, Frank Curreri and other great speakers delivering a powerful message about how we each have an opportunity of getting unstuck, and understanding why it is so important, as it reveals the hope and light that will guide us to brighter times if we just decide to not allow "IT" to define us.

For Dustin it's about making a difference not only for himself, but by standing up for others as well. It's Stand Up Sunday- What are you gonna do now to make a difference for your own health and to reach your own goals?
  
Take a look at Dustin's new clothing line and order your DSF Gear now to help support others with paralysis.

Check out my video and learn more about what The Dustin Shillcox Foundation is all about. It's about improving the moment.

I can Turn Myself on... Watch the  video to see how the stimulator implanted inside of me works.

 Dustin Shillcox’s life drastically changed when he was in a car accident August 2010 and sustained major spinal cord damage, a broken upper arm, collapsed lungs, broken ribs, cracked sternum & mild brain injury. Dustin’s complete T-5 spinal cord injury (SCI) left him with no feeling below his mid-chest, causing paralysis from the chest down.

Now paralyzed, and living his life in a wheel chair, Dustin was told he would never again be able to move below his waist again, but after participating in a cutting edge SCI research project, at the University of Kentucky in Louisville, he is now able to move his legs and stand once again. Dustin is living his life to the fullest, sharing his story, journey of overcoming obstacles, and faith while raising funds for spinal cord research. Through his motivational speaking and the Dustin Shillcox Foundation, he is helping to improve the lives of people in wheelchairs.

Dustin delivers an inspiring message about never giving up, and the power of a positive attitude in his speech "What Are You Gonna Do Now?" Inquire about Dustin's availability to speak at your next business meeting, conference, charity event, school, church or graduation event. If you are looking to inspire your crowd to overcome personal challenges, and motivate into action, Dustin needs to be your next call! 307.870.6764

written by Nickel Lowman

Stand Up Against Atrophy

Stand Up Sunday...

Everyday Dustin chooses to get out of this chair and work towards his goals of being able to walk again. Everyday he gets one day stronger. Everyday he gets one day closer to that goal.

You may wonder why standing up is such a big deal. To a paraplegic, that was told he would never have movement below his chest or have the ability to stand again, it means the world. Paralysis comes with it's challenges and one of them is muscle atrophy. Muscle atrophy is a decrease in muscle mass, basically a wasting away of the muscles. If Dustin does not get up and move this lower extremities, he will loose all use of the muscles. When you have a spinal cord injury and a goal to one day walk, the though of atrophy is not an option. You must keep moving- and in Dustin's case, standing up!

Other symptoms that are connected to Dustin's paralysis and muscle atrophy are lack of blood flow, poor circulation, decreased sexual function and bone density loss. By exercising, doing wheelchair workouts and standing up, Dustin is working on improving each of these symptoms as well as his cardiovascular health, overall health, and he is preparing his body for when there is a cure. Besides that, Dustin says "Standing up, just feels good!" 

A standing frame helps Dustin with his balance and support his weight. Dustin recently donated a standing frame to help others be able to to do the same. For Dustin it's about making a difference not only for himself, by Standing up for others as well. It's Stand Up Sunday- What are you gonna do now to make a difference for your own health and to reach your own goals?

...Dustin lives a lifestyle that uses his physical paralysis to create a new future and new perspective on something that was once painful. Dustin will be in Las Vegas, as part of the Unstuck Conference, sponsored by Finding Your Happiness July 30th, 2016, where he will share the stage with John Polish and other great speakers delivering a powerful message about how we each have an opportunity to  reveal the hope and light that will guide us to brighter times if we just decide to not allow "IT" to define us.

 
Take a look at Dustin's new clothing line and order your DSF Gear now to help support others with paralysis.

Check out my video and learn more about what The Dustin Shillcox Foundation is all about. It's about improving the moment.

I can Turn Myself on... Watch the  video to see how the stimulator implanted inside of me works.

 Dustin Shillcox’s life drastically changed when he was in a car accident August 2010 and sustained major spinal cord damage, a broken upper arm, collapsed lungs, broken ribs, cracked sternum & mild brain injury. Dustin’s complete T-5 spinal cord injury (SCI) left him with no feeling below his mid-chest, causing paralysis from the chest down.

Now paralyzed, and living his life in a wheel chair, Dustin was told he would never again be able to move below his waist again, but after participating in a cutting edge SCI research project, at the University of Kentucky in Louisville, he is now able to move his legs and stand once again. Dustin is living his life to the fullest, sharing his story, journey of overcoming obstacles, and faith while raising funds for spinal cord research. Through his motivational speaking and the Dustin Shillcox Foundation, he is helping to improve the lives of people in wheelchairs.

Dustin delivers an inspiring message about never giving up, and the power of a positive attitude in his speech "What Are You Gonna Do Now?" Inquire about Dustin's availability to speak at your next business meeting, conference, charity event, school, church or graduation event. If you are looking to inspire your crowd to overcome personal challenges, and motivate into action, Dustin needs to be your next call! 307.870.6764

written by Nickel Lowman

Faith- Complete trust or confidence

Improving Your Life Through Complete Trust

It’s Stand Up Sunday- What are you doing today to improve your life or the life of someone else? Dustin’s mission in life is to "Improve the lives of people in wheelchairs, raise money for spinal cord research and give faith to those affected by spinal cord injuries." Let’s look at the “faith” part of that. 

Faith... can be defined as complete trust or confidence in someone or something. It can also be defined as a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Let’s look at the faith as defined as a complete trust or confidence in something (ourselves).

What could you do in your life if you had complete (faith) trust in yourself? In your decision making? What if you believed in and had faith in the direction you were headed in life? The possibilities would be endless. But how do you get rid of the belief system that is holding you back from that blind faith?  You need to make a conscious decision to stop second guessing yourself. Listen to the first though that comes to mind and act on it. That may be easier said than done. But if you listen to the second though, your mind and belief system get hijacked. So what do you do, if you get hijacked with the second though, listen to the third thought and take action anyways.

How do you take action? One step at a time! When Dustin was in the hospital recovering from his life threatening injuries from the horrific accident that caused his paralysis, he was not thinking about taking action to raise money and awareness for spinal cord injury he was just taking one step towards feeling better and getting out of bed. After that he took steps towards sitting up. Then going through physical therapy. And it wasn’t until many steps later that he was participating in cutting edge medical research that now allows him to stand up. He’s not yet to his goal of walking or dancing, but he’s one step further along in his journey to greatness and it’s because he made the decision to take a step towards committing to improve his life through complete trust. This trust is the faith that Dustin has in himself. Dustin’s passion is sharing and giving faith to others to help them believe what he found for himself- within himself. He’s doing it one step at a time. Today is Stand Up Sunday- Take a stand for your life and trust (have faith) in yourself.

Take a look at the new clothing line and order your DSF Gear Now!

Check out my video and learn more about what The Dustin Shillcox Foundation is all about. It's about improving the moment.

I can Turn Myself on... Watch the  video to see how the stimulator implanted inside of me works.

 Dustin Shillcox’s life drastically changed when he was in a car accident August 2010 and sustained major spinal cord damage, a broken upper arm, collapsed lungs, broken ribs, cracked sternum & mild brain injury. Dustin’s complete T-5 spinal cord injury (SCI) left him with no feeling below his mid-chest, causing paralysis from the chest down.

Now paralyzed, and living his life in a wheel chair, Dustin was told he would never again be able to move below his waist again, but after participating in a cutting edge SCI research project, at the University of Kentucky in Louisville, he is now able to move his legs and stand once again. Dustin is living his life to the fullest, sharing his story, journey of overcoming obstacles, and faith while raising funds for spinal cord research. Through his motivational speaking and the Dustin Shillcox Foundation, he is helping to improve the lives of people in wheelchairs.

Dustin delivers an inspiring message about never giving up, and the power of a positive attitude in his speech "What Are You Gonna Do Now?" Inquire about Dustin's availability to speak at your next business meeting, conference, charity event, school, church or graduation event. If you are looking to inspire your crowd to overcome personal challenges, and motivate into action, Dustin needs to be your next call! 307.870.6764

written by Nickel Lowman