Ride Products Used:

Ride User Since:

2009

Biggest Seating Challenge:

I have a very unique body shape and I have difficulty sitting for long periods of time with good posture. My Ride Designs cushion allows me to sit properly with little fatigue. I have the most challenges in securing myself to my sitski. I need a very unique seating system to allow me to ski properly without coming out of my seat. Ride Designs was able to make a completely custom system that has allowed me to ski at my full potential.

How Ride Helped:

Ride Designs was able to make seating systems for me completely custom from the beginning. I have a unique body type that won’t work with any normal seating system and they were able to create a solution from scratch.

Give us the details:

I was born with lumbar sacral agenesis and I grew up using a wheelchair. I grew up in Franconia, NH. I have been sit-skiing since I was six, and ski racing since I was 14. I have been on the US Paralympics Alpine Ski Team since 2003. Since then I have been to the last three Paralympics and competed at the X-Games six times. I have traveled around the world with ski racing, pushing the limits of the sport as well as pushing my wheelchair to some very adventurous locations.

Ride Products Used:

Ride User Since:

2015

Biggest Seating Challenge:

I was using a hot cushion with limited airflow that gave me fear of pressure sores along with back pain.

How Ride Helped:

The design of the cushion allowed air to flow freely, and I could finally sit upright all day and be more active without pain.

Give us the details:

Hi! My name is Alysia and I am from a small town outside of San Francisco called Danville. Summer of 2015 I had a hiking accident that shattered my L2 vertebrae and left me with paralyzed legs, which is why I use a wheelchair. At first, it was tough to get used to being in the chair, all I wanted was to be able to stand and walk and run again, and I thought because of this, I would always hate my chair. However, with time, as I learned to accept my injury and as I got more and more used to my chair, we kind of became partners, in a sense. It helps me to continue doing all of the things I love to do, such as travel, and for that, I am forever grateful and have finally learned to love my chair.

When I first got my chair, I actually had a different cushion and I HATED it. My bottom was regaining a lot of feeling at the time so I was always very uncomfortable in the cushion I was sitting in and my back would hurt from time to time as well. This cushion also didn't breath well so I was always afraid of getting a pressure sore. I felt like I was constantly in need of finding a place to lay down so I could ease the pain I was feeling and get some pressure off of my bum.

I was then introduced to the Java Cushion and it LITERALLY changed my life as a paraplegic. I could finally sit upright all day without hurting and be more active throughout the day. Not to mention, my back started feeling better and I felt like my bottom was actually getting a bit of air circulation because of the way this cushion is made. With all of these issues seemingly resolved, I finally started to feel more "normal" again. Without this cushion, I wouldn't have been able to handle my full-time job because I'd never be able to last in an upright position for over 9 hrs a day. I probably wouldn't have been able to study abroad and travel all over Europe last summer, and because of that, I would have probably never discovered my passion for travel. I know it sounds dramatic, but I definitely owe a lot to this cushion.

Be sure to follow Alysia on Instagram @wheeliesaroundtheworld.

Ride Products Used:

Ride User Since:

2011

Biggest Seating Challenge:

One of my ischial tuberosities grew abnormally at some point after treatment. This created greater pressure on a very small area. My Ride Designs cushion has reduced the issues I have. I am always conscious of this issue and follow it closely for a pressure sore.

How Ride Helped:

The Ride Designs seat cushion takes the pressure off of the ischial tuberosities and distributes the pressure to the meatier portions of my legs and buttocks.

Give us the details:

I lost the use of my legs as the result of treatment for cancer. I had a tumor in my sacrum that was treated with the maximum level of radiation. After several years I started loosing the ability to walk normally, in 2005 until it got so bad by 2009 that my only option left was to use a wheelchair. Now I use a wheelchair 100% of the time.