Archive for the ‘Technical Aids for Quadriplegic’ Category

Technical Aids Tips and Tricks L

Tuesday, January 21st, 2014

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I like my smartphone…!!!

With my old mobile phone I didn’t write as much as 5 text messages within 5 years since my accident because I couldn’t push the small buttons with my buckled thumb.

When I tried to hit the keys with my index finger it looked a bit like our fellow citizens who were born before 1965 ;-)

I would like to point out here that you can not learn to be patient!!!

You might be able to say: You can learn to endure patience, but nothing more.

For someone like me with my tired fingers a smartphone is really brilliant. A little sweep over it, and the text message is almost done.

The search for my first smartphone was a little difficult.

Many things which I buy I pick because of handling and key chain suitability so that they don’t fall down immediately.

I am “Lord of the key chains”, see older blogpost.

(Picture is not faked!!!)

Newton, you know who I mean, the guy with the apple, has fallen in disgrace already for years.

When I searched for a “Rollinator-Tetra-suitable Smartphone” I noticed that these phones compared to a regular cell phone don’t have a loop any more to hang them on one of my beloved key chains.

The sales clerk suggested fastening a key chain to the slots of the speaker on the cover…

This won’t last for 2 minutes with me!!!

The chance of survival for a smartphone without Rollinator-fall protection is highly estimated below 5 days.

Before I had a Samsung offroad cellphone, with a giant loop and extremely robust, but with no special functionalities.

Thus I bought the Samsung S3 offroad smartphone, but brought it back after a weekend of installation work because it constantly crashed…!!! For once, I don’t mean the device, but the software. Additionally the internal memory of 100 MB was just enough for 25 apps, ridiculous…

So better the regular S3 (by now I knew the handling), but with a solid leather or silicone cover and key chain. There should be some suitable accessories available for me..

Even after days of extensive search in stores and internet I couldn’t find a cover on which I could hang a key chain!!!

Would the producers want the phones to regularly fall down???

So I had to help myself…!!!

The solution was so simple… I bought a standard leather cover and punched my key chain hole into it myself with my office hole puncher.

Smartphone with self-made fall protection


Please note the display: Model 386 SX 12MHz ;-)

There is actually a smartphone cover with key chain loop available, see below…!!!
There is actually a smartphone cover from Samsung available, thanks to Mark for the tipp:
The cover is an original Samsung accessory, the loop is quite good, and because of the rubber cover it doesn’t slip away easily…
Without cover it was regularly lying on the floor, and I thought it was a pity that the loop for the key chain was missing… I bought it here:

http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0083TWHFG/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is available in different colours… Important it is original Samsung… The “no names” don’t really fit tight to the phone.

Translator BL

 

 

Hilfsmittel Tipps und Tricks XXXII

Friday, November 1st, 2013

Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.

Technical Aids Tips and Tricks II (Blogpost 2009)

Friday, October 25th, 2013

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The transport of items of all kind is horror for us wheelers, especially if they are round!
Thighs are completely unsuitable for carrying pomaceous fruit.
The high art of German engineering has brought it to light after years of research:

the plum transport box for wheelers

dscf0093b

The resemblance with an egg carton is misleading!

Translator BL

Sport News V, Wheelchairgolf

Sunday, June 9th, 2013

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Trial lesson in Tenerife

I had already reported a year ago about an electric wheelchair with which you can play golf, (see older blogpost).

In Tenerife, you can rent such a golf wheelchair in the Hotel Mar y Sol in Los Cristianos, and also play a round with a coach on the golf course.

As I once played field hockey in my previous live and I would have liked to hit a ball again, my curiosity was even bigger.

This year I even had the possibility to meet the challenge of playing golf with my friend Christian Nachtwey, a former European champion and team captain of the German National Team in wheelchair golf.

Christian is not only an excellent golf player but also has a company which produces these golf wheelchairs. www.powerbasetec.de

In my former life I have driven many fork lifts, lifting platforms and similar vehicles with joystick, but such a delicate steering mechanism as it is in the golf wheelchair was new to me. Just driving around is really fun!

However, I was still in doubt how I should hold the golf club with my limited finger function and then even be able to hit the ball.
You have to take such “trifles” as a game, up to now we usually could think of a solution.

You are buckled up with knees and chest, similar to my Standing chair at home, and then you rise to the sky.

I have to admit, we were “just” on the Driving Range.

After we fixed the golf club with velcro straps and duct tape to my hand, the test series “Play Golf 1.0″ instead of “Drive Golf 12.1 years” could begin.

To my surprise you hardly need power, so that the ball even moves with me.

It seems to me that you can learn to play golf quicker as a “wheeler” than as a “footer” because you don’t twist the upper body during the shot due to the belts.

It is a lot of fun, I can recommend it to everybody to give it a try.

Wheelchair golf is also possible on Mallorca, this is there offered by “FUNDACIĂ“N HANDISPORT Mallorca”.

With them I was already sailing last year. It was a perfect day then, (see older blogpost).

A roll of duct tape is necessary per hole…

After I unpacked my “secret weapon”, the golf-ball from Eintracht Frankfurt which I brought along, Christian virtually didn’t have a chance any more ;-)

Translator BL

Technical Aids Tips and Tricks XXX

Saturday, March 16th, 2013

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During my last stay in the wheelchair hotel Mar y Sol in Tenerife (see older blogposts) I wanted to do some physical training when I met the Scotswoman Mary.

On her wheelchair two aluminium tubes were fixed with hose clamps which made me a bit curious.

Even I didn’t know what to do with this construction!!!

On my enquiry it turned out that you put those sticks into the tubes with which you push the rocks at wheelchair Curling. Curling is a very common sport in Scotland. If the term Curling doesn’t mean anything to some of you, it is a sport similar to ice stock sport, but Olympic.

When she took out a black bandage glove which looked a little as if she wanted to enter the boxing ring with me for twelve rounds instead of spreading the ping-pong balls broadly in the gym she started to scare me.

With this special velcro tape glove type Hand Grip she is holding the stick at wheelchair curling with which the rock is pushed, a ping-pong or badminton racket or hockey stick tight in her hand. This is working excellently even though she is quadriplegic like me and has very limited finger functions.

You can use the glove especially well for working out with weights, or supposedly for playing with the “Wii”.

Maybe I should start with a 500 gram weight first, but I do everything for a good shot ;-)

The glove is from the English company active hands, who are specialised in gripping aids for handicapped (as well for kids).

www.activehands.com

I have ordered such a glove in England. It was delivered within a week. The price is quite high with 65 €, but justified.

When you order the glove online beware that the check mark is set for “left glove”. But you can put the left glove on the right hand without problems ;-)

The English have always been a little “twisted”, this is probably because the genetic pool of the islanders is exhausted ;-)

Now I can finally hold a little hammer when I urgently need to consult my piggy bank.

Translator BL

Technical Aids for Quadriplegics Part XII

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

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It doesn’t always have to be the expensive aids from the medical supply stores which make one’s life easier.

If you have finger motor functions as if you are wearing boxing gloves the little metal clip on the toast packaging becomes your object of hate.

These clips are “Newton’s” best friend.

For some time, I am only using re-usable

plastic fasteners


for plastic bags.

Simply great, these little clips.

They are available in some supermarkets or for little money at the yellow Swedes!

Translator BL

Technical Aids Tips and Tricks XXVIII

Friday, January 18th, 2013

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The medically proven positive effect of hop blossom ice tea, or disdainfully just called beer, is generally known.

“Cold wheat soup” dope

is extensively carried out, especially in Bavaria with state recognition.

If you are not able to remove the crown cap of the medicine bottle any more due to the paralysis of your hands, illness, stroke or too much doping, there is only one thing to help, the

One-arm-hop-blossom-ice-tea-bottle-opener

Source of supply of this ingenious aid without medical device number is amongst others

the company www.Mehal.de

I have already reported about their knife holder (see older blogpost).

Here is a link to other helpful special openers:

Type I bottle / jar opener

Type II bottle / jar opener

2. self-developed technical aid, my medicine bottle opener

Type I canpull opener

Type II can opener

Security advice: Too much doping can influence the driving characteristics of your wheelchair substantially.

Special thanks to Technical Aids Stuntman Ochim, who immediately volunteered to test the opener with video evidence.

Translator BL

Technical Aids Tips and Tricks IXL

Thursday, November 15th, 2012

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Technical Aid of the year!

FreeWheel

 

Uneven paths, curbs, cobble stone, sand, gravel, grass and of course snow are not really friends of a wheeler.

With a little oomph you reach an artistic score of 5.8 for your flight out of the wheelchair. This can end up annoying, see older blogpost Broken Leg.

The solution is rather simple, you “just” need a longer wheelchair. But if I had a longer wheelchair I wouldn’t get it into the wheelchair loading system of my car.

My Minitrac and handcycle are great, but I always need a volunteer to get one of it out of the cellar.

A super alternative is a single wheel in the size of half a children’s bicycle which you clamp to the front of your wheelchair, and when the front wheels are lifted it gets perfect. The wheelchair then looks a bit like a jogging stroller. There are various producers of such a system.

On the Rehacare fair in DĂĽsseldorf I have met Patrick Dougherty, the American inventor of the

www.goFreeWheel.com

I knew this attached wheel from many videos from the internet, but it is not easily available in Germany. It is so small that you can store it at the back of a rigid frame wheelchair. I take it on my knees when I descend with my platform lifter because I have a foldable wheelchair. Just input “FreeWheel” in Youtube and see for yourself what is suddenly accessible, e.g.:

I could buy a new “fair wheel” from him which was still lying in the hotel. On the last day of the fair he deposited it at the booth of Runa Reisen, a travel agency for handicapped. I know their staff very well because I always book my holidays there. They have sent the FreeWheel to my home then. Thanks again from this side.

With the FreeWheel it is even possible, ideally with additional Mountainbike tyres, to ride safely in the snow. Now the next winter can start, or maybe even a little bit of desert…

The FreeWheel is clamped tetra-easily to the footrest of a rigid-framed wheelchair. (But I have a foldable wheelchair…???)

If you ride forwards afterwards the front tyres of the wheelchair are lifted, and the fun can begin.

Because of the big tyres even “shocks” due to rough grounds are almost not noticed any more.

A rack with maximum load of 12 kg is available as well.

It has been upgraded with missing spoke reflectors incl. blinking valve caps (see picture above).

Of course Patrick wanted to know in detail how I get the FreeWheel clamped to my actually non-suitable foldable wheelchair by magic with Michael’s help. ;-)

New 2014 FreeWheel for folder-wheelchairs

For enquiries contact as usual: rollinator@eigude.de

Translator BL

 

Technical Aids Tips and Tricks XLVIII

Friday, November 2nd, 2012

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Since I am rolling through the world for 5 years now, I have another enemy besides disabled parking place occupiers, namely doors.

These mostly white pieces are slowly turning into a phobia.

Not so easy to pull the door shut when you are standing… eh, sitting in your own way.

Hold the handle tight, roll backwards and mind not to fall forward if possible, or to do a backflip with the wheelchair.

In hospital I already had a long ribbon with which I was always fishing for the door handles. This ribbon is still hanging on the door of my flat and is serving its purpose.

I hate my own kitchen door, it is one meter wide. I only say:

No arms, no cookies…!!!

Only the door knows why I haven’t hung such a ribbon on my beloved kitchen door during the last 4 years.

The blue-yellow nordic timber worms offer drawer handles in all designs, sizes and colours. There were no more hurdles for the

kitchen door tuning.

A mate has screwed such a handle on my favourite door from the inside.
Now I can eventually close the door even when I am already standing in the corridor.

Because the screws have to be very long I recommend to immediately take threaded bars (on IKEA handles mostly thread M4), and saw it off to size only at the end.

If you leave the bars a bit longer you can even mount two towel hooks at the inside on the door.

Tip, always drill the holes from outside to inside and use an air level.

Looks a bit like a towel rail, I like it. Next, the door of my flat will be refurbished.

Before spot-drilling the entrance door it can’t do any harm to integrate the landlord in selecting the handles.

Translator BL

Technical Aids for Quadriplegics Part X

Thursday, September 27th, 2012

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One of the biggest difficulties for us quadriplegics is opening screw caps of jars and bottles.

The variant to beat them up with a hammer or to throw the jars and bottles in the easiest way on the floor to open them is working excellently, but proved out to be inefficient in practice after a longer test phase.

I have reported already several times about special openers, (see older blogposts).

As self-confessed roamer on websites of the most different online medical supply stores I have found two new models made from silicone. The sunflower bottle opener

Model Geniosa

is working quite well, but needs getting used to. The

blue jar opener

has convinced me completely with its splines on the in- and outside whereby it gets a good grip, and is in my opinion even a little bit better than its competitor product of the company Dycem, whose products I think are excellent.

Source of supply of both items at www.dein-sanitätshaus.de

I assume no responsibility for an aching head on the next day after an extensive test series of the openers with e.g. a bottle of vodka and a jar of figs ;-)

Translator BL

Worldwide App for Disabled Toilets!!!

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

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One of the main issues for us wheelers is the question, where is the next disabled toilet.

As pedestrian it is hardly imaginable that trips into the wild have to be planned from loo to loo.

For many wheelers the question of the next toilet is rather the biggest handicap, and many don’t dare to leave home for this reason!!!

Ingenious…!!! Finally it is available, the

Worldwide Google Disabled Toilet Finder App

www.wheelMate.com


Source photo: www.wheelmate.com

There you can display worldwide with Google the nearest disabled toilet on the street map.

I know my hometown Frankfurt very well, but I would never have thought that there are so many disabled toilets in the city center.

This is awesome… Post, post, post…

Because this app or website is interactive as well you can also comment on the disabled toilets, if e.g. there is a narrow door, or add not known disabled toilets.

The option to display disabled parking places exists, but there have to be added some 1000 existing parking places.

I am asking all readers to make this website known:

Post the Link on Facebook, other social media,… or wherever:

http://www.wheelmate.com

or my blogpost:

http://www.eigude.de/blog/?p=14426

Thanks in advance!!

I have found a similar website from a manufacturer of Australian public designer toilets for Australia and New Zealand:
www.exeloo.com
;-)

Translator BL

Technical Aids for Quadriplegics IX

Friday, August 10th, 2012

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There are often small things which can help to get mad a little less in spite of one’s handicap. With my buckled fingers I always have “slight” difficulties to hold a pen.

Even before my accident I already had a kind of cryptographic handwriting (dreadful scrawl), which I only could decipher myself, but now…

My “handwriting“ is quite dreadful despite occupational therapy in which I started like in first grade to draw “e” and “a”.

I always try to convince myself to see everything sportingly and stay quiet, but if it is about writing I rarely succeed.

Everybody who once had a healthy set of hands knows what I mean.

I recommend to everyone who would like to try out such a handicap to do the housekeeping for at least 1,5 hours with leather ski gloves, or just try to write an address on an envelope… with sender! ;-)
If I could really motivate somebody for this test I would appreciate to receive a test report. rollinator@eigude.de

I didn’t like pencils any more at all, these things were too smooth for me.

You might put rubber foam or rubber caps on the pencils, but it might work differently as well.

The company Staedtler is known for their writing utensils of all kind.

They are offering a

rubberized pencil (type Noris Ergosoft)

which I think is very recommendable due to its grip.

With this one you might be able to write a love letter in ski gloves.

Translator BL

Techncal Aids Tips and Tricks XLX

Wednesday, August 8th, 2012

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Today it’s all about the money!!!

If you are like me not bigger than 1,38 m sitting in the wheelchair and additionally are not able to grip acceptably any more the supposed most easy things become challenges.

Before my accident I was a real friend of plastic money. Insert card, add number, and yet the bucks were gone, if you are not just standing in front of an ATM.

As wheeler you feel a little uncomfortable with the debit card when each pedestrian looks over your shoulder when you are typing the PIN on the do-it-yourself store counter.
Additionally my wallet fell down regularly.

I decided rather quickly in favour of the a bit antiquated, but in Germany still widely used cash, whereas the little hitch was that I can only grip coins very poorly with my fingers and the coins fall down to the floor often. Additionally, who likes it when the casher is digging in your wallet, or who would give to the kind filling station attendant the PIN of the debit card to settle your bill.

Every quadriplegic has his mishap with zippers when the motor function of the fingers is limited. Alternatively to the well-known key rings which are usually fixed to the zippers I as former electronic technician am largely fixated on tie wraps.
On rucksack, jacket (see older blogpost), camera bag and even on the pants,… tie wraps, tie wraps, tie wraps… Thumbs in… open close, open close…! ;-)


The idea to fix the wallet with a spiral rope on the key ring at the front bag of my cushion was obvious. A wheeler friend of mine got his wallet stolen from his rucksack on the back of his wheelchair 4 weeks ago. If someone would try this with me the person would have to bend down so low that an uppercut would be recommendable.

From the technical side I don’t have difficulties with paying any more; now only the regular refilling of the wallet at the bank has to be ensured.

Quiz question: There are two tie wraps on the wallet, a white one and a black one, which one opens the pocket with the cash??? *

* Answer, of course the black tie wrap: BLACK MONEY ;-)

Translator BL

 

Today it’s all about the money!!!

If you are like me not bigger than 1,38 m sitting in the wheelchair and additionally are not able to grip acceptably any more the supposed most easy things become challenges.

Before my accident I was a real friend of plastic money. Insert card, add number, and yet the bucks were gone, if you are not just standing in front of an ATM.

As wheeler you feel a little uncomfortable with the debit card when each pedestrian looks over your shoulder when you are typing the PIN on the do-it-yourself store counter.
Additionally my wallet fell down regularly.

I decided rather quickly in favour of the a bit antiquated, but in Germany still widely used cash, whereas the little hitch was that I can only grip coins very poorly with my fingers and the coins fall down to the floor often. Additionally, who likes it when the casher is digging in your wallet, or who would give to the kind filling station attendant the PIN of the debit card to settle your bill.

Every quadriplegic has his mishap with zippers when the motor function of the fingers is limited. Alternatively to the well-known key rings which are usually fixed to the zippers I as former electronic technician am largely fixated on tie wraps.
On rucksack, jacket (see older blogpost), camera bag and even on the pants,… tie wraps, tie wraps, tie wraps… Thumbs in… open close, open close…! ;-)


The idea to fix the wallet with a spiral rope on the key ring at the front bag of my cushion was obvious. A wheeler friend of mine got his wallet stolen from his rucksack on the back of his wheelchair 4 weeks ago. If someone would try this with me the person would have to bend down so low that an uppercut would be recommendable.

From the technical side I don’t have difficulties with paying any more; now only the regular refilling of the wallet at the bank has to be ensured.

Quiz question: There are two tie wraps on the wallet, a white one and a black one, which one opens the pocket with the cash??? *

* Answer, of course the black tie wrap: BLACK MONEY ;-)

Translator BL

Addendum Technical Aids Tips and Tricks VII

Thursday, July 12th, 2012

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I have already reported on 01.04.2010 about a

vertical magnet key holder

(see older blogpost).

It is nothing new that a wheeler is wearing a couple of key chains every now and then.
Slowly this technique gets a little annoying and a bit out of hand…!!!

(picture is not faked!!!)

If the chains are collectively lying around, for no apparent reason a Gordian knot is formed again and again. I explain this by the momentum.

Therefore I have meanwhile established a key chain

hanging board parking place.

Maybe I should sort the key chains by spectral colours.

Translator BL

Technical Aids Tips and Tricks Part LI

Wednesday, June 27th, 2012

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As offered on my front page, you can ask me all kinds of questions relating to technical aids, para- or quadriplegia etc. using rollinator@eigude.de.

I always try to answer these questions independently and free of charge.
Depending on the handicap the usually easiest activities become small and big challenges.

There are no problems, there are just challenges and a big challenge is a project.

Recently I received a most interesting enquiry, original text:

Because I am hemiplegic on the right side, you might know how I can stir the contents of a cooking pot on the stove without the pot stirring as well.

Maybe you have FINALLY an answer to that question!

I discussed with highly qualified colleagues to find a possible solution.
After several weeks of intensive research we came up with two solutions.

Option 1:
For e.g. sauce Bolognese you don’t only buy 500g of minced meat, but at least 2 kg, so that due to the gravitational force of the earth and the law of mass inertia according to Newton, at simultaneous roasting of the 2 kg meat with non-excessive stirring, the pot on the stove will not stir as well.

Option 2:

Silicon pot holders

Currently you can buy these again at the big coffee roaster (2 pieces for 4,95€).

You can not only use them as pot holders.

According to manufacturer instructions the pot holders can also be used as trivet.
They would be temperature-resistant until 230 degrees Celsius.

These are referred to in our specially developed

Glass ceramic stove top one arm pot stirring method

Before cooking, one of the silicon pot holders is placed next to the glass ceramic stove top.

If you feel the need to protect the hopefully later delicious food from the roasty flavour and stir the contents of the pot, you just pull the pot on one handle with one arm half or a little more on the silicon pot holder.

If the pot is pulled completely on the pot holder there will be difficulties with pulling it back to the stove later.
Now you can stir, stir, stir,… with one arm to your heart’s content without the pot stirring as well.

Then you pull the pot again back to the stove.

Sounds easy, and it is ;-)

Best try it before with the stove switched off.

These silicon pot holders are also perfectly suitable as non-slip mat and allegedly as jar opener as well.
Best technical aid in my opinion to open jars and bottles, see older blogpost.

Security advice:
I strongly advise against placing especially cast-iron and other pans and pressure cookers on the silicon pot holders because they may exceed the maximum temperature of 230° C.
Never place the pot holders on the stovetop!!!
Application of the tip on your own risk, I assume no liability.

Translator BL