Bringing Sexy Back
Nearly 13 years ago, Philadelphia native Frank LaMacchia was involved in a motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed from just below the chest down. A car veered into his lane, knocking him from his bike. He never saw it coming and he has no recollection. But, in those very moments, his life changed forever.
After receiving extensive therapy at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, and recognizing the challenges of returning to his home and the community in a wheelchair, LaMacchia signed on to serve as a role model for others with disabilities and to help them lead active, happy, and healthy lives. His goal was to help change the perception of what it means to live with a disability.
Working with Recreational Therapist Anna Martin, LaMacchia starred in a video series in which he welcomes viewers into his car, bedroom (No, not for that! Get your mind out of the gutter.) and kitchen and instructs others who navigate via wheelchair on ways to tackle daily tasks such as a gym workout or grocery shopping. The video installments, each one directed and produced by Martin, are available on YouTube and have been viewed by thousands of people across the country.
Through the videos, LaMacchia and the team of therapists at Magee Rehab hope to show that people with disabilities can often be more active and able than those without them. LaMacchia sets a positive example as he is "always out and about," as he says.
And now it appears LaMacchia is bringing sexy back. Following a nomination by Martin and other therapists from Magee Rehab, LaMacchia has landed in the highly anticipated Philadelphia Daily News' 2011 Sexy Singles annual crop of unattached and desirable individuals in the Philadelphia metro region.
LaMacchia, who is handling the publicity with dignity, hopes the Sexy Singles experience will "help draw attention to the kind of lives patients can have when they leave Magee, the video series itself, and also inspire people with disabilities to see themselves as being able to live life to the fullest ... and help able-bodied people see that we're no different than them."
He hopes that by providing the video series and by receiving a new, ahem, title, other individuals with disabilities will benefit from having access to real-life examples and information concerning life's possibilities after injury.