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Man develops footrest adaptation for paralised girl

Shared by Ana Duarte on 2019-06-14 08:20

About the solution

Abby needed something that allowed to keep her feet positioned and stable on the wheelchair footrest. She is paralysed from the chest down after having sustained a spinal cord injury. The girl has limited movement her arms and no fine motor control in her fingers.

“I have biceps but no triceps and very little core control. My problem is that when I am sitting in my wheelchair, I have spasms quite frequently that cause my feet to move out of position. When they are not in the right position, I am in quite a bit of pain. I am always calling my parents into my room to move my feet. And also because of this, I can never be left alone. That is quite a hardship on my parents”, she explained, when she reached out to May We Help.

So Ray, a volunteer from May We Help (an organisation that develops gadgets to increase the autonomy level of disabled people), created her a footrest that enables her to move her feet back into position by herself. He used plastic and hardware, and Abby got her device in 2015.

“I wanted to let you know that the modification you made had worked out beyond our expectations! When she has leg spasms now, the feet “magically” return to their proper position about 80% of the time. It has given her more independence as now she feels confident to be left alone for an hour or two at a time. And it has certainly helped out us as well, as we don’t have to worry about her being alone as much, and we don’t have to run and fix her feet all of the time now”, her family said.

Adapted from: https://bit.ly/31yHjZa

This solution shall not include mention to the use of drugs, chemicals or biologicals (including food); invasive devices; offensive, commercial or inherently dangerous content. This solution was not medically validated. Proceed with caution! If you have any doubts, please consult with a health professional.

DISCLAIMER: This story was written by someone who is not the author of the solution, therefore please be advised that, although it was written with the utmost respect for the innovation and the innovator, there can be some incorrect statements. If you find any errors please contact the patient Innovation team via info@patient-innovation.com

About the author

Ray Riley, from the USA, built a footrest adaption for Abby’s wheelchair, a young woman who is paraplegic.

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