A teenage girl of restricted height with spinal and knee problems needs crutches to walk, so that she cannot easily cope with changes in floor level. As a result, she had to be lifted in and out of the family car, causing back problems for her mother on the school run. We made a set of shallow steps so that the girl can now walk up to and down from the passenger seat under her own steam on her crutches. As you’ll seen in the video, the steps are strong yet quite easy to assemble and disassemble.
Tag: Mobility
Walker extension for tall man
An elderly man, standing 7 foot 1 inch tall, had difficulty using his standard walking frame, so we extended it for him!
Walker attachment for electric scooter
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.
Reversing mirror for wheelchair
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.
Wheelchair pushchair connector goes global
The wheelchair pushchair attachment we made for a disabled mother has aroused interest all over the world thanks to the popularity of our online video. Now another new mum in a similar situation has had her own version produced by an Israeli company, with Remap South Bucks engineer Roger Thorn providing design guidance via email. You can see the new version in action here:
[Please note that Remap cannot currently supply this type of equipment. For availability of similar devices, see here.]
Wheelchair trailer attachment for twins
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!
Walking frame stabiliser: video
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.
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.
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.
Scooter platform
A lady client had a knee joint removed, leaving her with a single bone running from hip to heel. Her right leg is now three inches shorter than her left and she can no longer bend it. After her operation she bought a scooter to get around outdoors, but her right leg stuck out in front, so she was in constant danger of catching her foot on the ground. We built a special platform onto the scooter frame to keep her foot clear of the ground and protect it from bumps and knocks.
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