An occupational therapist asked us to help a lady client who needed a valuable wood framed sofa raised. Being a much loved family heirloom, the sofa could not be altered in any way, but standard chair raisers would not fit it. Working in oak, Remap engineers designed and manufactured a set of perfectly matched raisers that look to the untrained eye like part of the sofa. The client can now sit down and get up with ease.
A stroke patient in her early 80s was suffering back pain because she couldn’t sit far enough back in her armchair. The height of the chair had been adjusted, but there was no support at the front to stop her sliding forward as the seat cushion became compressed, so her occupational therapist referred her to Remap. We made new chair raisers that were 20 mm lower at the front than the previous ones and 40 mm lower at the rear, so the seat cushion was slightly tilted and the lady could sit back in comfort. We also installed a cloth covered foam bar to support the front of the chair and prevent her from sliding forward.
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.
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.
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.
A lady with arthritis in her hands could not operate the handle to open her washing machine. The handle as fitted by the manufacturer was very small, and required a robust grip to disengage the latch. As she lives alone, the lady had to ask a kind neighbour to help every time she wanted to use her washing machine. Her daughter called in a Remap engineer, who made a simple extension to the handle and attached it to the original, allowing the lady to open the door herself with ease.
Rosemary from Amersham suffered a stroke and was unable to lift her right leg onto a stairlift footplate or to hold it there while the stairlift was in motion. We designed a leg lifting device with a cushioned bar that rests across her left thigh and another that goes under her right thigh. Rosemary moves a lever to the left to raise the bar on the right, lifting her right leg using the bar on the left as a fulcrum; this action also moves a curved bar across her right shin. Pushing the lever forward moves the shin bar to gently bend the right knee, bringing her right foot onto the footplate and allowing her to keep it in position by flexing her left ankle to adjust the fulcrum. Rosemary can now use the stairlift on her own, giving her independent upstairs access.
Nora at Abbeyfield Princes Risborough suffered a stroke that affected her balance using a walking frame. Worried about falling down stairs while crossing landing to lift, she became increasingly confined to her room. Remap installed a stabiliser linking her frame to the wall opposite the stairs, so she can now get the lift downstairs confidently in the knowledge that the walker is secured.
The fully story is here.
John's Site 