An elderly lady just discharged from Wycombe Hospital had a tendency to wander and fall during the night. Her occupational therapist asked us whether we could make — as quickly as possible — a side rail for her bed at home to keep her from getting out at night. A Remap engineer visited the lady’s home and within two days had designed and delivered the finished bed rail, which can be lowered for her carer to put her to bed and then raised again. The carer subsequently sent us this letter.
Following a leg amputation, a lady living in a small bungalow
had difficulty accessing her garden shed where she keeps her
washing machine. We installed a handrail that enables her to
mount the steps up to her shed safely.
A lady client was using an electric mobility scooter to get around, but needed to carry a walking frame so she could get into shops and other places that the scooter could not access. We used clips and a Velcro strap to hold the frame onto the scooter.
An eight-year-old boy, born with no fingers on his right hand, can ride a bicycle without problems – right up to the point when he needs to apply both brakes at once! Remap engineers designed and fitted this “balance bar” that lets him activate both brakes from a single lever.
A diabetic man living alone needed insulin injections four times a day, but could not administer them because of dexterity problems: the pen dispenser required too much pressure and was difficult to keep straight. We produced an aid that holds the dispenser vertical and allows the client to press the plunger with the palm of the hand. Approved by the client’s diabetes nurse and medical team, the device has put an end to broken needles and involuntary blood letting!
A stroke left a lady client confined to an electric wheelchair and with very limited arm movement, especially on her right side. Because she could not see over her shoulder, she had difficulty reversing the wheelchair in the confines of her house without crashing into things. She contacted Remap, and we mounted a cycle mirror onto the wheelchair using the flexible “gooseneck” from a table mounted microphone and a simple clamp. The client can alter the mirror position by simply bending the mounting.
Tim is a father with paralysed legs who looks after his 18-month-old twins on his own during the day. Frustrated that he could only take the twins out in his car, rather than to the park or along local footpaths, he bought a bicycle trailer to be towed using his powered wheelchair.
However, the trailer tow bar was designed to attach to one side of the rear wheel of the bike and was curved to allow a bike to turn freely. To fit the trailer to the wheelchair required a straight pivoting tow bar, which is where Remap came in. We designed and fitted an “upside down” tow hitch at the back of the wheelchair using a quick-release axle pin to lock the tow bar in position. Tim positions his wheelchair so that the trailer tow bar is on his right side, and then has to manoeuvre the tow bar into the socket behind him, which he cannot see. To make this task easier, a golf ball is used as a handle because it is quite tactile and gives good control over the tow bar. Having attached the trailer by feel, Tim clips on a safety strap and away they all go!
A lady with arthritis that restricts hand movement asked if we could help her get out of her house. The problem was that she found it difficult to operate the small latch on the front door. Remap engineers looked at the problem and provided a simple solution: they made the latch bigger by grafting on a screwdriver handle! The client now gets out more.
Ex-Remap volunteer John Harding developed Parkinson’s disease, which made it difficult for him to hold a book or tablet PC steady while sitting up in bed. Undeterred, he built this book/tablet support himself, and has kindly shared the design with us and offered his help in case we need to build one for anyone else. So, if you know someone who needs such a device, please get in touch!
Stroke patients discharged from hospital often suffer from reduced manual dexterity and find it difficult to operate the locks and security devices fitted to their doors when they get home. To help assess whether patients might face such problems, occupational therapists at Amersham Hospital asked Remap to construct a working model of a door, complete with a range of full-sized locks, latches, handles and a door chain. As a result, OTs can now seek pre-discharge assistance from Remap engineers, who can provide individual adaptations before or coinciding with the patient’s return home. The door can also be used in rehabilitation, allowing patients to practice using locks and handles.
John's Site 