Walking frame stabiliser

Norah, a resident in her early 90s at Abbeyfield Supported Sheltered Housing, Princes Risborough, was in the habit of going into town on her own to visit the library. Then she suffered a stroke that affected her balance and her confidence in getting around. Norah’s room is on the first floor of her home. To gain access to the outside world, or even to the communal dining area and day room on the ground floor, she has to cross the landing at the top of a flight of stairs to access the lift. Using a wheeled walking frame, and with impaired balance, she was increasingly worried that she may fall down the stairs. She began to spend more time alone in her room. An occupational therapist at Wycombe Hospital referred Norah to Remap, whose engineers were able to come up with a solution.

To stabilise the walker, a tubular runner was mounted on the wall opposite the top of the stairs, and two sprung ball-end shafts were fitted to the frame, one on either side. Norah simply feeds the end of the appropriate shaft into the runner and can cross the landing quickly and confidently in the knowledge that the walker is secured. She can now eat and socialise with fellow residents again, and has resumed her trips into town. Norah said: “This gadget makes it safe for me to walk across the top of the stairs and has made a world of difference. It’s 100% successful.”

Watch video here.

Drawer worktop conversion

A lady with restricted mobility wanted to make herself tea while seated at her sink unit doing the washing up. Unfortunately, she could not reach the kettle or other tea making paraphernalia safely. Remap engineers incorporated a hinged cover onto a kitchen drawer to provide additional workspace while still allowing use of the drawer below. The lady can now make tea and coffee safely from a seated position.

Pan stabiliser

Following a succession of strokes, father-of-two Andy lost the use of his right arm. Determined to cook for his family one handed, he was initially unable to prevent pans from sliding dangerously all over the cooker. We fashioned a horizontal frame to prevent sliding, attached to two perpendicular “goalpost” style restraints to stop pans rotating during stirring.

Food tube roller

A Beaconsfield gentleman with weak hands and wrists had difficulty feeding himself because he could not roll up a tube containing puréed food, especially when it had solidified in the fridge. With a bit of careful metal bending, Remap fashioned a bar that fits around the tube and has a long arm to give good leverage. As simple as that: he can now roll up the tube neatly and get to the food!

“Bridge” to bathroom

A gentleman with multiple sclerosis (MS) lives on the first floor of his home because that is were his bedroom and bathroom are. Unfortunately, there is a step down and then back up at the top of the stairs between the two rooms, preventing him from moving between them in his wheelchair. We designed a fold-down infill “bridge”, complete with handrail and gas struts, that allows him to travel safely over the landing to the bathroom.

Spraycan holder

A client has rheumatoid arthritis in her hands, affecting her finger functioning and grip. She also suffers with angina and so needs to use a Nitromin spray, but cannot operate the rather small spraycan due to her arthritis. We built a spraycan holder that is big enough for her to grip in one hand while operating the spray using the palm of her other hand. She can now apply the spray with ease, whenever required.

Garden access ramp

A lady was unable to take her husband, who had survived a stroke, into their garden because she was not strong enough to push his wheelchair over a standard access ramp. We installed this specially elongated ramp with a gentler gradient that she can manage.

Wheelchair steps

We were referred to this gentleman, a double leg amputee, by an occupational therapist at Wycombe Hospital. Initially our task was to install an access ramp. While we were there, the client mentioned that he was keen on floor exercises, but needed help to move unaided from his wheelchair to the floor and back. Remap designed these steps and arm rests to enable him to do this.