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The Hot Wheels Program for Children at the University of Miami
An exciting new program for kids in wheelchairs
Spinal cord injury and its resulting paralysis is a life-changing event in anyone who is affected, but for children and their families there are special problems, which often cause insurmountable difficulties. Without assistance from caring individuals these secondary problems may become even more debilitating than the primary injury. In particular, social isolation, emotional difficulties and lack of familiarity with available services for children with disabilities all lead to frustration and hopelessness.
An exciting new program has been started at the University of Miami by the members of the Pediatric Brain & Spinal Cord Injury Program, which is a group of dedicated physicians, nurses, students, and other volunteers whose primary goal is to improve outcome in children with brain and spinal cord injuries. This new program is called the Hot Wheels Program.
The Hot Wheels Program was started in March, 2005 as a result of a single act of philanthropy by the uncle of a child with SCI. Luigi Patrone, 10 years old, came to the University of Miami from Italy two years after an accident that resulted in complete paralysis below the waist. John Kuluz, MD, Co-Director of the Pediatric Brain & Spinal Cord Injury Program, initially evaluated Luigi and connected him to the wealth of resources at the University of Miami both in the Department of Pediatrics and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. The Hot Wheels Program was conceived in response to the needs of children in wheelchairs for social support from their peers, improved recreational activities, greater knowledge, education and understanding of living with disabilities, and support for their families. Andrea Castelblanco, MD, a Research Coordinator in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, is the Coordinator of the Hot Wheels Program and Gillian Hotz, PhD, Department of Surgery, also contributes greatly to the Program.
The Program, still in its infancy, currently serves nine kids between 10 and 22 years of age and their families. The group meets on a monthly basis at the University of Miami's Mailman Center for Child Development. The main goal of these meetings is to provide children, their families and significant others with the opportunity to meet with an experienced multidisciplinary group of professionals that work on areas related to the healthcare, education, psycho - social, technological and recreation for children and adolescents in wheelchairs. At our first meeting we asked the kids to list goals for the Program. In response to the question of what is the purpose of our Program, Luigi shot up his hand and answered, "TO HAVE FUN!" Therefore, our monthly meetings are complemented with "fun fling" activities once a month on the weekends. Some of our fun flings have included:
- Tour, lunch, and private meeting at the helms with the Captain of a Carnival Cruise ship
- Attendance at a Miami Heat basketball game
- Day of sailing at Dinner Key with Shake-A-Leg followed by a barbeque party
- Bus trip to Key Largo to Swim with the Dolphins!
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