Rozanna Quintana

Hi my name is Rozanna and I am a single mom.  I became disabled through a seatbelt injury in 1994.  At the time of my accident, I had a 20 month old and a 5 month old.  When I came out of the hospital, my son wasn’t walking yet.  So, the biggest challenge I had was getting him from the ground to my lap.

Luckily, I have always been athletic.  I would lean down, hold onto my chair, grab him and drag him up to my level.  I also invented a trapping method using the hooks on my wheelchair and a bungee-cord.  My daughter was a little older but she was thin.  I would essentially put two kids on my lap and bungee-cord them in.  So, whenever we went places, they couldn’t escape.

Once I readjusted to my new life, I returned to sports and recreation.  I got involved in wheeling.  I would wheel through my local parks.  I also played a bit of tennis, but I found that it was a little too much for me.  Then, I found other activities I could involve my children with, such as biking and skating, which means that I have to keep up with them.

We then discovered billiards and bowling.  I enjoy playing pool because it’s something that’s easy to do because you’re at the height of the table.  Actually, you have a better vantage point because you can see things.  You can see shots that standing people can’t.

In bowling, the difficulty is finding a place where you can bowl.  In other words, you need to get down in the lanes.  That’s the biggest problem I’ve found being in a chair.  But, what I like about my bowling alley, Parkway Bowl, is that they have an area where I can access the lanes.  And I don’t have to be a professional bowler; I can just wing it so to speak.  I throw the ball and if it makes it, it makes it.  The great thing is that I can do it with my children.

I have also volunteered for organizations that promote physical activity.  There are a number of operations out there trying to get people with physical disabilities more involved in athletics and keeping fit. I think it's great because one of the biggest challenges we have in the disabled community is staying fit.

How do I stay fit?  I run after two children!