Technology helps the disabled find independence

Steve Kinstler remembers ice skating at age 4 and wearing No. 16 as he played center and right wing for the St. John Vianney High School varsity hockey team. After he became paralyzed from the chest down, the result of a viral infection, he denied his athletic desire for nine years.

“I didn’t see how I could do it at the level I wanted to be at,” said Kinstler, 39. “It takes maturing and perspective to get there.”

In 2003, he made his return to the game he loved, but with some modifications.He played sled hockey, which involves a player sitting in a sled with a seat on blades. Players use two small hockey sticks equipped with picks on the end to help propel them across the ice. When a player wants to handle the puck a stick is switched upside down.

“To be able to compete again means a lot,” said Kinstler, who is currently sidelined with an injury. “It was a confidence builder - that I could get out there and do OK.”

Read it all here.

Published on May 27, 2008

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