In a series of in-depth interviews, 32 men and women describe the ways in which they have responded to their spinal cord injuries. They freely discuss their sex lives, their beliefs about God, how they want others to treat them, and their hopes of walking again. In each chapter, the author presents detailed narratives along with the latest research. ""Wheeling and Dealing"" explores the impacts of both physical impairment and the social environment. Although disability activists tend to focus almost exclusively on the external, social aspects of disability, many individuals with spinal cord injury assert that their disabilities can be understood only as a combination of internal impairments and external circumstances. Topics covered include: physical health, from loss of function to problems like pressure sores, temperature regulation, and bladder control; the stages of psychological adjustment and rehabilitation; obstacles to sexual intimacy, treatment of erectile dysfunction, and new sources of sexual pleasure and emotional intimacy; religion and spirituality; social and political beliefs - everything from welfare services to embryonic stem cell research; dating, marriage, and parenting; friendship networks and social supports; concerns about transportation and accessibility; and, education, employment, and the economic consequences of spinal cord injury.
