Innovations:
1. Warm Undergarments
2. Abdominal Belt
3. Suction Leg Bag
4.
Extended Clothes Hanger Hook
5. Parking Door
Opener
6. Bell
Boy Attendant Help
1.
Warm Undergarments
Like many quadriplegics living in northern climates, Sam spent much
of the year feeling cold and trying to find a warm place. One day he
decided that he was through with feeling cold and that he would develop
clothing that would ensure he was warm. He purchased the thickest polar
fleece possible and made it into an undershirt and leg warmers that
would cover his legs from his ankles to his thighs. He found he was
still cold. Then he asked that a new pair be made that was double layered.
He tried them and was still cold. He then had a triple layered undergarment
made and at that point was able to go through his day without feeling
cold. He keeps the single layer polar fleeces for the late spring and
early fall as he overheats if his dressing is not appropriate to the
weather
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2.
Abdominal Belt
Sam was concerned about his lack of abdominal muscle tone and tried
several commercially available abdominal belts. These belts would quickly
ride up to the chest when he got in his wheelchair. He then had a thick
denim belt made specifically for his seated position and found that
it also drifted up to his chest. He had felt straps placed on the belt
that would go around his legs to hold the belt down. Fortunately he
had some sensations and could tell that his blood circulation had been
cut off and that he no longer had sensations in his legs. He was able
to remove that belt in time to prevent serious damage. He then had spandex
bicycle pants attached to a commercially available belt and this worked
perfectly. Although the original motivation of the belt was vanity he
soon discovered amazing benefits that he had not anticipated. The belt
helped keep his blood pressure higher than normal as it prevented pooling
of blood in the abdomen. The belt also helped with balance as when he
started to fall over he could breathe in and obtain more rigidity in
his trunk. Most valuable of all was that when he would lie down, tighten
the velcro straps and lean in certain positions, he could void 100%
of the urine in his bladder. Bladder infections, as is common for most
paralyzed people, were a significant issue for Sam. Being able to void
completely at least twice a day had a marked improvement on the health
of his bladder. Urologists expressed concern that this action might
back flow urine into the kidneys but a cystoscopy and check-up confirmed
that this was not happening. Many paralyzed bladders have a certain
overflow point where the pressure inside the bladder causes voiding.
This belt dramatically increases the pressure on the bladder.
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3.
Suction Leg Bag
Another contributor to bladder health is an innovation Sam had made
through Tetra. He noticed that regular condom drainage using gravity
was not very effective. The urine would pool in the condom until gravity
kicked in and then, even after the drainage, there was still urine pooled
in the condom. As most bladder infection bacteria originate from the
bowel he suspected that this pooling of urine had something to do with
the ongoing infections. He obtained some rubber bulbs commonly used
on blood pressure testing devices and, in combination with some one-way
valves, constructed a leg bag system that had suction in the condom
when the black rubber bulb was squeezed. When he started to void and
the urine began to fill the bulb he would once again press on the bulb
and create another suction. He also discovered that constant suction
throughout the day could lead to skin breakdown and developed a release
valve, which he took from a common car tire. By pushing on that device
air would fill the cavity. The combination of the abdominal belt, voiding,
and the suction leg bag, called Urivac, has enabled Sam to live relatively
free of bladder infections.
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4.
Extended Clothes Hanger Hook
Sam has a clothes hanger that has been unraveled. On one end is the
hook and the other end is a ball of metal that he can grasp, more or
less. He uses this constantly for reaching things, like pulling down
books from bookshelves, but the most useful application is when he drops
things on the floor. He has a grocery store bag with handles. He puts
the bag near the object that has fallen and then pushes the object into
the bag, sometimes using the clothes hanger reaching device. When the
object is in the bag he hooks one of the handles and is then able to
lift the bag up with the object in it. He has even been able to pick
up coins with this technique.
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5.
Parking Door Opener
Sam lives in an apartment building with heavy parking doors and a security
key fob system. He has a rope connected to the back of his chair with
a hook on the end. He puts the hook around the door handle, uses the
key to release the lock and then drives his chair forward, thereby opening
the door.
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6.
Bell Boy Attendant Help
Sam often travels by plane to different cities in North America, Europe
and Australia and usually travels alone. The biggest problem he finds
in travelling alone is using toilets. He has found that by staying in
mid-level hotels he can engage two bellboys to assist him getting on
and off the toilet by paying them $20. The cheaper hotels did not have
bellboys, or possibly only had one, while at the expensive hotels the
bellboys might refuse to give that kind of help. The mid-level hotels
had bellboys who were eager to make the extra tips, although sometimes
guerilla tactics were necessary to convince them.
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