Steve would soon find his next passion: wheelchair rugby, or as it was known then – Murderball. “The cool thing about the sport is it’s made for people with quadriplegia and is full contact – you’d get into chairs and ram into each other. When I first saw it, I was like ‘Wait a minute, I’ve got to learn more about this’.”
Steve didn’t just learn more about it, he worked his way up to the US national team and won gold in international competitions. It was in the build-up to the 2004 Paralympic games that Steve and his teammates featured in the 2005 film, Murderball. “I developed some great friendships”, he says.
“It felt normal, if that makes sense, being around other people in a similar situation. We were all learning this new way of life together.”
It’s these learnings and experiences Steve shares with people as a Patient Advocate, a role he started after nearly two decades working in catheter sales. “The coolest thing about working in the industry was being able to learn about newer and better catheter technologies”, he says. “There are some really discrete products out there, like GentleCath™. You could be holding the package in your hand and nobody would ever know you’re holding a catheter.”
Steve explains that cathing can be a big challenge at first, but with time, finding the right product and the right routine, and learning how your body works, it becomes “kind of normal”.
“The most important thing, I believe, is finding the right product to use. I encourage people to sample a bunch of products and find out what works best for them. The technology has really advanced recently.”
“GentleCath™ with FeelClean Technology™ is a fantastic catheter,” he says, “one of the newest hydrophilic catheters on the market with the newest technology to give the comfort you want as a user. The hydrophilic property is embedded into the catheter, so you don’t have a coating you can scratch off with your fingernail.”
Another advantage of finding the right product and routine, he says, is lessening the risk of UTIs. “UTIs are a big deal for people who cath – I can’t stress that enough,” he says. “I’ve got my catheters that I use, including a compact one when I’m out and toilets might not be so clean. I haven’t had a UTI in so long I can’t even recall when I had my last one.”