Life Possible with Karen Roy: Videos

About Karen

Numotion Brand Ambassador

I have been a wheelchair user for more than 30 years after a T10 complete spinal cord injury when I was shot in an armed robbery. Helping others after a debilitating injury or illness was my reason for joining the Numotion team in 2015. I am passionate about advocating for all people with disabilities to have access to the technology they need to stay healthy, especially standing devices, and live their best life possible.

Additional Resources

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Videos

Numotion: Q&A with Team USA Paralympic athletes McKenzie Coan and Josh Turek hosted by Karen Roy

Paralympic Panel featuring McKenzie Coan, Josh Turek and Jim Craig. Hosted by Karen Roy

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Jenny Smith Rolls On, Disability Mentor and Author

I interview Jenny Smith, who sustained a C level spinal cord injury while practicing a cheerleading at the age of 16. Jenny had to learn to live life again as a quadriplegic. Jenny is an advocate, peer mentor, and encourager for people living with spinal cord injuries. Jenny has a website, Jenntsmithrollson.com, where she writes funny and meaningful articles about living life as a wheelchair user.

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Dallas Crum with AMS & VMI Vans

Dallas Crum's father started AMS Vans in 1998, inspired by a family that needed an accessible van for their daughter with severe Cerebral Palsy. Kip Crum, Dallas's father, realized that there were a limited number options for accessible vans and all options were very expensive. Vantage Mobility International (VMI) acquired AMS in 2017 and at that time AMS was the largest dealer of accessible vans in the country. Dallas also talked about his wife, Faith, and their kids Ethan and Riley.

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Ski Dawgs

Meet David Thomas, an avid water-skier, founder of the non-profit Ski Dawgs and senior drafter for NASA. Doing tricks with his friends at fifteen years old, resulted in David suffering a C5 incomplete spinal cord injury. David tells the story of how he built his own adaptive waterski and then how his friend talked him into starting a non-profit adaptive waterskiing program. The program is called Ski Dawgs and it's been a huge success in Louisiana.

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Be Your Own Advocate When Ordering a Wheelchair With Ali Ingersoll

Ali Ingersoll grew up all over the world and has lead a fascinating life on many levels. Ali lived in the Bahamas with her family in her when she was 27 years old and sustained a C5 complete spinal cord injury. Out of necessity Ali has become an expert in navigating the process of ordering a new wheelchair through private insurance. She is a successful disability advocate and shares her knowledge with wheelchair users who need assistance. Ali is fun, intelligent and an all around amazing human!

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Josh Turek ,4 time Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball Player & Gold Medalist

Josh Turek was born with Spina Bifida and is a lifelong manual wheelchair user and a lifelong participant and advocate for adaptive sports. Josh is a gold medalist and 3x Paralympian in wheelchair basketball. He has played professional wheelchair basketball 15 years in several countries. Josh has represented the USA in 3 Paralympic Games in wheelchair basketball, winning a gold medal in Rio in 2916. This summer’s Paralympics in Tokyo will be his forth and final Paralympic Games.

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Advantages of Carbon Fiber manual Wheelchair Frames, CRT Advocacy & Adaptive Sailing

Cody Verrett and Chris Collin who both work for Motion Composites and are devoted to disability advocacy. In this episode we learn how Motion Composites became a company. We discuss carbon fiber, disability advocacy, advantages of hiring people with disability and adaptive sailing.

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Disability Representation in Mainstream Media with Barb Zablotney

Barb Zablotney is a manual wheelchair user and disability advocate and Karen discuss the importance of using models and actors with disabilities in main stream media. Barb won a contest recently and will be featured in Torrid's national holiday ad campaign. Barb will be the first wheelchair user Torrid has ever used in an ad campaign. How can people with disabilities increase visibility in main stream media?

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Medical Accessibility for People with Disabilities with Heather Markam

In 2021 people with disabilities still don't have equal access to medical care. People with mobility impairments don't have height adjustable exam tables, x-ray machines or scales that can weigh a person that is unable to stand. In this episode we will discuss the laws and standards that are currently in place to protect access to medical for people with disabilities and what we can do to continue to make improvements.

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Living More than a 2 Paragraph Life with David Linaker

David Linaker is a Life Coach, Priest in the Church of England, Celebrant, and much more. David grew up with a grandfather who was a wheelchair user and then went on to work with people who have disabilities in different capacities. David and Karen discuss how to successfully adjust to life with a new disability.

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Dating and Sex with a Disability Featuring Justin Richardson

Karen and Justin are both wheelchair users that work at Numotion. While both have navigated relationships prior and post-injury, they discuss the differences to make relationships meaningful in and outside of the bedroom. They talk about how they portray their disability on dating sites and discuss commonly asked questions about sex with a disability. Fun stuff, don't miss it!

Life Possible with a Disability Podcast: Jumping Out of Your Comfort Zone with Warren Cleary

Karen and Warren Cleary talk about their adaptive skydiving adventure. Warren was a professional skydiver when he was injured in a hard landing. Warren has an incomplete spinal cord injury and uses a wheelchair for mobility. Warren started skydiving again less than a year after his injury and helped develop a strap that helps people with paralysis control their legs while skydiving. Karen would never have gone skydiving if it was not for Warren's mentorship.

Abilities Expo #AbleToLove - Karen

We had the true pleasure of sitting down with Karen Roy, 2019's Ms. Wheelchair America and wow, she blew us away! So much so that we extended this #AbleToLove to fit all the amazing knowledge and love she packed into her interview. Take a seat, get comfy, and soak in all the love and light that Karen shared with us, you will not be disappointed!!

Functional Electrical Stimulation Bike

One of the best decisions I made after becoming paralyzed was to use Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) to keep muscle tone on my legs. Due to my diligence at using the FES bike and standing devices I have never had a wound, fracture or contracture in 31 years of paralysis. Click here to learn more.

14 Questions featuring Karen Roy, Numotion Brand Ambassador and Ms. Wheelchair America 2019

This video is part of the series 14 Questions, featuring interviews with disability advocates regarding their work and insights into the Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) industry. In our latest post, Numotion Director of Advocacy Strategy, Justin Richardson interviews Karen Roy, Numotion Brand Ambassador and Ms. Wheelchair America 2019.

Adaptive Yoga in a Wheelchair

Yoga helps people with disabilities connect to all areas of their body, even if they don’t have muscle control. In this blog I explore poses that help me relieve pain and tension experienced from sitting in my wheelchair all day.

Do you Demolish Barriers?

Check out my interview for the Demolishing Barriers segment on the WWL-TV morning show in New Orleans, Great Day Louisiana. This segment features stories about individuals who inspire others, who may not be able to envision how to create a better future. By featuring people that not only survived difficulties but thrived, they are sharing stories of leading by example – and living life possible!