The Cody Unser First Step Foundation

This July, I’m excited to represent New Mexico at the 2026 Annual Conference on Independent Living presented by the National Council on Independent Living

This conference is an incredible opportunity to connect with advocates, leaders, and changemakers from across the country who are committed to advancing independent living and disability rights. I’m looking forward to learning from inspiring speakers including the incredible disability activist, Mia Ives-Rublee , exchanging ideas, building new connections, and bringing back valuable insights that can help strengthen our communities.

The theme of NCIL’s 2026 Annual Conference on Independent Living is Protect. Persist. Prosper.

I can’t wait to be part of the conversations, celebrate our successes, and explore new ways to promote independence, inclusion, and accessibility for all.

Let’s GO! Rock ON! 💜🤘🏁

For more information about the conference visit: https://ncil.org/2026-conference/

See you in July! 💜🏁🤘

27 years ago, life threw a red flag I never saw coming.

At 12 years old, life was just beginning but I indeed thought the race was over. All the hard work learning how to live with a paralyzed body redirected me to a different track — one that would take me underwater, speaking on stages to OBGYN Departments, and into the lives of people who needed someone to prove survival could still be beautiful.

These 27 years have taught me how to navigate and feel this life differently — through the red flags society waves at disabled bodies as well as the green flags that remind us the race is still worth driving.

This isn’t just my story.

This is about science, medicine, politics, disability justice, women’s health, and the body politic — because disability is not just medical…it is deeply social, cultural, and political.

My body is not just medical. It is political.

The body politic movement teaches us that how society treats disabled bodies reflects how society values human dignity. Accessibility, inclusive research, equitable healthcare, and representation are not luxuries — they are markers of justice.

Women with disabilities are still vastly underrepresented in research, reproductive healthcare design, and preventative screening access. Many of us face physical barriers, provider bias, and assumptions about our sexuality, fertility, and autonomy.

This is why I advocate. Because disabled women deserve healthcare systems that see us, respect us, and design with us — not around us.

Since becoming paralyzed at 12 years old, my life’s race has been about expanding quality of life, adaptive scuba diving, disability education, and shifting how medicine and society understand the disabled body.

Transverse Myelitis itself is rare, unpredictable, and often misunderstood. It is a neurological condition caused by inflammation of the spinal cord that interrupts communication between the brain and body. It can cause paralysis, sensory loss, chronic pain, bladder and bowel dysfunction, and life-long medical complications.

No race car driver crosses the finish line alone. And I could not have driven 27 years down this unpredictable track without my pit crew. My family especially my amazing mom, friends, caregivers, medical professionals, the dive community, disability advocates, and mentors who refuel me when the tank is empty, change tires when life blows one out, and help rebuild my race car after every yellow caution and red flag.

You are the reason I am still in this race & you know who you are. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

27 years ago, I thought my story was ending. Instead, I was handed a different track — one that took me deeper into humanity, into the ocean, into advocacy, into community, and into purpose.

The red flags taught me what must change.

The green flags remind me why I keep racing forward.

The race continues. Rock ON! 💖🤘🏁

Transverse Myelitis and Paralysis Resources:

Johns Hopkins Myelitis and Myelopathy Center: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/transverse-myelitis

UT Southwestern Medical: https://utswmed.org/conditions-treatments/transverse-myelitis/

Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association: https://wearesrna.org

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation: https://www.christopherreeve.org

American Spinal Injury Association: https://asia-spinalinjury.org

My ribs are bruised, maybe a hairline fracture. After my “Wheelchair Barbie Goes to the Gynecologist” presentation on Thursday, roared in at 2:30 am. Heart rate through the roof. Chills. Vomiting. Headache. My pain had hit the red flag. I ended up in the hospital for pain management. Living with paralysis means you’re always racing on data your body sometimes hides. Sometimes it’s internal. Other times, it’s the race car (your wheelchair), a cushion off, a wheel misaligned, a pressure point you can’t always feel.

So to my single wheelchair peeps flying solo, especially those with or related autoimmune disorders, this is a tip to have your “Pit Crew” check your race car. Whoever’s in your corner, have them sit in your chair once in awhile. They’ll feel things you can’t, even when you’ve done your own inspection. In racing, performance depends on teamwork, technology, driver input, & specialized roles. Engineers & mechanics study the telemetry: lap times, braking, tire wear, fuel usage. The driver gives crucial in-car feedback. Together, they find what needs fixing before it fails. Living with paralysis is the same kind of engineering. Our telemetry comes from pain spikes, spasms, bowel/bladder issues, sleep disturbances, skin breakdown, etc. Our family, friends, caregivers and doctors are the race engineers who interpret our signals when we can’t. But let’s be real, it’s exhausting to constantly monitor, manage and decode our own systems. To keep racing through chronic pain, medical complications in an ableist world that was never built for us. To stay strong, brave, and inspiring not just for ourselves, but for everyone watching. Still, that mission to educate, to represent, to make a difference…is my race fuel! The engine oil, transmission fluid and brake fluid that keeps me going when the body wants to stall.

This driver is extremely grateful for her “Pit Crew”. I know not everyone has one. I don’t always take my own advice to slow down. My DNA runs through my veins like the mountain winds at Pikes Peak or in the heartbeat of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I was built to go full throttle, not idle.