Brother makes wooden ramp for his sister

His sister had infantile polio, which presented her with physical problems in coping with her day-to-day life. His sister lived in Hertfordshire and was confined to a wheelchair, but had upper body movement. Because she was widowed, she relied on her children and neighbours for day-to-day support with her mobility. She even needed help getting her wheelchair down the two front steps to go to the shops.

He built a wooden ramp up to his sister’s front door and also installed an electric hoist, with a runway, above the ceiling in the hallway, bathroom and toilet of the bungalow. He was particularly pleased with this as the hoist and track were entirely within the roof space, with only the hoist cable and control pulls projecting through a slot, protected by rubber flaps.
His sister was overjoyed with the ramp and hoist, as they immediately gave her a level of independence she had never enjoyed before. Pat was so impressed with the immense change his relatively simple improvements had made to his sister’s quality of life that he became determined to be the catalyst in bringing similar benefits to others.
Later on, Pat founded Remap, a national charity working through local groups of skilled volunteers to help people with disabilities achieve independence and a better quality of life.

More info: http://www.remap.org.uk/

Adapted from: http://laterlifenorthyorks.co.uk/specialized-equipment-matters

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