Unstuck and in Vegas for a Moment

Stand Up Sunday...

Dustin blew in out of Vegas as quickly as the Summer Monsoon winds whisked by. The weather in Vegas this weekend was gloomy and the skies were smoke filled, but Dustin's message light up The Orleans and the audience a the Unstuck 2016 Conference with positivity. 

Dustin shared his story about overcoming the initial challenges from his car accident and about his opportunity to stay focused and positive in light of paralysis. He stood up and shared about the epidural stimulator and the opportunities it has created for him. Keep an eye on his blog this week for video clips and pictures from the event.
 
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.

Clothing for a Cause: 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 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

Standing Frame Donation

307.870.6764

DSF Gear Helps Make  A Difference...

My good friend, Lizzy Pritchett, like me, is living with a spinal cord injury and she has been the best person I could ask for to have in my life. I'm so honored and glad that the Dustin Shillcox Foundation was able to make a positive impact on her life. Below is one example of how purchasing DSF Gear can make a difference. I want to say thank you for the support as we continue to make help others! -Dustin

By Lizzy Pritchett:

I am beyond thankful for the generosity of the Dustin Shillcox Foundation. The standing frame that has been donated to me has been such a blessing. I live four hours away from any physical therapy clinic that might have this kind of equipment so now that I have a standing frame at home, I can ensure that I am standing multiple times throughout the week. As most spinal cord injuries know; standing and weight-bearing helps with bone density and organ function. The Dustin Shillcox Foundation has literally helped me sustain my health.

Not only has Dustin given me a standing frame, but he has been an amazing mentor and friend. I have a C5 spinal cord injury and, with the advice and encouragement of Dustin, I went from fully doubting myself to finding my most powerful self.

Thank you Dustin Shillcox Foundation!

Learn more about Lizzy's story here. One way Dustin is helping raise awareness is through the clothing line that was recently launched, it's called DSF Gear. The proceeds benefit those with spinal cord injuries. Dustin believes in giving back and recently donated an FES Bike.  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 What You Believe In

307.870.6764

 What Do You Stand For?

It's Memorial Day Weekend,  and it's more than the launch of Summer vacation and the school year ending. Monday is a day celebrated all across America that honors those men and women that stood up for what they believed in and ultimately lost their lives while serving in the U.S. Military, so that we could experience the freedoms we have today. As you celebrate by the pool with a barbecue, or visit a local parade or maybe even visit the grave site of a loved one who served, how will you memorialize the lives of those that gave the ultimate sacrifice?  Think about this for a moment... "what are you gonna do" to make sure that your life makes a difference to others? You may never have a holiday named after you, yet, it's a great day to reflect on the past and look towards the future and commit to making a difference for someone else. What will your legacy be? How will you be remembered?

Dustin will be busy this Sunday- making sure he stands up for what he believes in, and that is making a difference for people with spinal cord injuries, by helping raise awareness for cutting edge medical technology that allows him to once again stand up, something the doctors though impossible. It's Stand Up Sunday and Memorial Day Weekend- "What are you gonna do now?" 

Dustin was recently shared his success of being able to once again stand up, at the Las Vegas Salt Conference, and he will be back in Las Vegas delivering his motivational speech on July 30th, at the Unstuck2016 2.0 Happiness Conference where he will share his inspiring story of overcoming and his focus on helping realize there is hope and medical breakthroughs being made for those in wheelchairs with spinal cord injuries. He hopes, you will realize there is hope within each and everyone of us when we look deep.  Another way Dustin is helping raise awareness is through the clothing line that was recently launched; proceeds benefit those with spinal cord injuries. 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

Working Out- Stand Up Sunday

When was the last time you hit the gym?

Standing up everyday!- Standing up for what he believes in. For Dustin, working out is a way to work on himself. Working out is part of what gets him out of bed each morning. And yet, Dustin's commitment to self improvement in-part is not about himself at all. It's about what he can do for others. Dustin heads to the gym each day to work on building a stronger body and using his epidural stimulator, part of a medical experiment, that allows his paralyzed body to stand up. This cutting edge medical research technology will one day be available to others with spinal cord injuries. Dustin's selfless goals of working the technology to help others will benefit him, but the possibilities are huge as to how it can benefit others and the advancement of medical science. If hitting the gym would help you and others, would you make sure you did it each day or a few days a week?

Think about this, you may be able to stand on your own two feet without technology, but what if you had something else to set as your goal? Maybe to hit the gym so that you could establish a regular routine that would help lower your body fat index, or hit the pool and swim a few laps to get your heart beating or relieve the pressure on a bum knee. What if, all of this could lead to another day with a loved one or another year because your heath improved and you got to see your child graduate from college? Whatever your goal, work on it daily. It doesn't mean you have to hit the gym, but what if you did? No days off! Standing up everyday!

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

Do it with passion

307.870.6764

 Do it with passion or not at all...

What did you do today? Did you do it with passion? Was it worth doing? Rosa Nochette Carey says to "Do it with passion or not at all."  

What do you think about that? Webster's defines passion as: a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something. It's a great definition and it makes me wonder as I sit on the patio at the coffee shop enjoying the beautiful Las Vegas Spring afternoon, who really lives that way? Are the people around me living with passion? Am I living that way? 

After some reflection, I decided, I just as most of us, still have some fine tuning to do. And it's a daily work in progress. Keeping passionate about what we do is easy when life is going well and flowing naturally, I think when things start getting rough is when we can loose focus and loose the passion for what we are doing (whatever that may be) based on our commitment to it. Rather it be a daily exercise routine or commitment to a relationship or our careers, we get to choose to find passion in it each and every day. I find it's about looking internally and making small adjustments that allows me to keep the passion and some days it comes easier than others. 

I look at the challenges that Dustin overcame after his car accident and the small adjustments he had to make every single day once he woke up from the coma, and then again after her was released from the hospital, and again once the epidural stimulator was implanted inside of him. And today, just a few years later, he continues to make adjustments based on his surrounding and obstacles both minor and major that get in the way of a free flowing day, but yet he keeps going. Dustin focuses on "what he is gonna do now" and shares a powerful message during the speeches he delivers to encourage us to go after what we want- that passion. Dustin wanted to stand again (and now he can.) Dustin wants to walk again. To dance. And keeping his focus and passion on his goals is how he will achieve it. "What are you gonna do now" to find and keep the passion alive? Afterall- it's about doing it with passion or not at all...

-Nickel

Take a look at the new clothing line Dustin had designed to help people in wheelchairs, 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

Star Struck

Who would you be start struck to meet?

Sitting back stage in the greenroom getting ready to go on stage for The Salt Conference, Dustin shared with me about his unsuspecting meeting. Now you may wonder with BIG names like Will Smith, Ron Howard, Kobe Bryant, Caitlyn Jenner and Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss that he would be sharing the stage with, how could one be unsuspecting? Well I share this because I would be just as unsuspecting- if I even noticed, or happened to recognize who was sitting next to me. Let's just say when you don't watch much TV you don't often recognize the stars. And being as I'm not one who is usually star struck, I can relate to Dustin's experience. So Dustin, tell us who you didn't recognize and how it all went down after you were introduced and even then what happened....

It's Sunday and I'm sharing Dustin's pictures from the recent Salt Conference in Las Vegas... There are no days off when you are working at reaching your goals, but Dustin I suggest you turn on the TV every now and again and you may recognize who you are sitting next to (I'll do the same and we may just be star struck.)- Nickel

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