Positive Points: Design and Technology

26Nov 2020 by Gill

I have been watching a programme on BBC2 Inventing the Impossible: the big life fix https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09g5hwf

The BBC bill it as “The UK’s leading inventors create ingenious new solutions to everyday problems and build life-changing solutions for people in desperate need”

All the people featured have a strong desire to achieve something but have a barrier to overcome. Here are a few examples:
Ian has Cerebral Palsy and wants to sail his own boat
Pollyanna is a lower limb amputee and wants to be a ballerina
Graham has a spinal cord injury and wants to snowboard again

Through inventive technology and engineering, The Big Life Fix team design and develop prototype inventions to create solutions. Once a created, the team refine the prototype into a workable result for the individual. Here are two examples that stood out to me:

Ian

Ian is a young man who has cerebral palsy and wants to sail. Sailing is something he used to do with his dad, until his dad passed away. Ian is not able to control the movement in his limbs. He can control his eyes and communicates using an eye gaze iPad. The team identify tech from other sectors, then repurpose it to create an eye gaze system that can steer the sailing boat. This allowed Ian to control the vessel.

Graham

Graham had a serious snowboarding accident which left him with a spinal cord injury and poor control over his limbs and balance. This is obviously crucial to snowboarding. He was desperate to get back into the mountains. The team engineered a solution to help him stand and shift his body weight and control the board. This reminded me of the snowboarder I had seen in Steamboat USA who had an adapted board https://www.positivepositioning.co.uk/blog/snowsports .

Also Darren ‘Swifty’ Swift, the snowboarder with an amazingly positive attitude I wrote about in this blog back in January https://www.positivepositioning.co.uk/blog/positive-points-attitude

People with disabilities have as much drive and ambition as anyone else. Their achievements mean that they have had to deal with barriers that able-bodied people may not even consider.

We can already see developments being made in snowsports and cycling which is brilliant. However, for the most part these solutions are the exception and not the rule. My hope is that this type of design and technology will become more widely available to help many other people who face extra challenges.

Demi, Oldham

"The service I have received from Gill has been amazing. She is a very knowledgeable person and very caring and wants only best for the person she is helping. She shows compassion and strives to help improve a persons quality of life. I would highly recommend as she is brilliant at the job she does!"

Neil Stirk

I've been working with Positive Positioning for circa 4 years now to improve my physical and general wellbeing and I highly recommend their services. I reached the stage where I desperately needed help, although I was initially very weary as previous errors in my treatment by other medical professionals led to my conditions worsening, I was immediately put at ease on meeting Gill.

She spoke to me with professionalism, was genuinely interested in my problems, and more importantly, treated me like the person I am, not just a patient. During this conversation, seemingly little things had been picked up on, even without physical examination, such as my pelvic positioning, that was contributing to my pain. Gill contacted the relevant ppl to get my wheelchair adjusted to sort this problem and it made a massive difference. It was this expertise and eye for detail that was used to improve many areas of my life, often with only small adjustments turning out to be life changing.

When products from external companies were required to improve my conditions, Gill and Positive Positioning were on hand to liaise and attend appointments with suppliers, to ensure the correct equipment was supplied for my needs and prevent me from becoming a victim of the 'hard sell'. Gill and Positive Positioning are always willing to go the extra mile to help out and with my issues being degenerative, it is great to know I can contact them when needed and be confident I will receive the help required.

Coincidentally, I undergo hydrotherapy on a regular basis, where I see Gill and many of her other clients, and the working relationship, and humour that accompanies it, which means so much to me, is apparent with all under her care. I would like to thank Gill and her team for all the support I have received so far and am confident I will continue to receive the help I need in the future. Thank you Positive Positioning.

Caroline Poskitt

"Thank you so much for making a difference to our clients wellbeing. I Can honestly say that I have noticed a difference in the last two weeks, not only the service users looking and acting more healthy but our staff are in high spirits and getting a lot out of your sessions. You have really made a difference for the better and we look forward to the future of helping more of our clients to achieve a higher level of fitness and more durability in their joints."
Deputy Manager, Mental Health & Physical Impairment, Leeds Adult Social Care

Ian, Leeds

"Following a stroke in Nov 2012 which resulted in the loss of use of my left side, I had the statutory ten weeks NHS physio. Not wanting to regress, I went on-line to find a neuro physio. Gill had excellent reviews and has worked with me now for seventeen months with great improvement in my ability. Gill also helped to obtain a stand aid which has been a great bonus. I strongly recommend Gill Arnett as an excellent and very friendly professional."

Chris Wainmann, LLB

"Gill is very approachable and immediately gives you the confidence to know that any problem with posture will be solved. Having Cerebral Palsy and therefore sitting in a powered wheelchair all the time, I was constantly leaning to one side. Gill visited me at home, did a thorough assessment and concluded that my pelvis needed more support. I now have a specially designed and purpose made pressure cushion. I sit more evenly which means more comfortably and I also have much less of a problem with pressure sores. Gill is happy to come back in the future and check that all is well. I have no hesitation in recommending her to anyone with a posture problem. She has made such a difference to my life."

MS of Leeds 2016

"When Louise Haigh (Stroke Co-ordinator) visited me she recommended Positive Positioning for some neuro-physiotherapy. I spoke to Gill who was very helpful, and then to Jan, who said the treatment would be in my own home — this made all the difference to me. And what a difference it has all made!

From the start Jan has been professional, efficient, friendly, encouraging and totally reliable. For ages I felt ‘in limbo’, but having a plan of action led to motivation to do the exercises which were hard, but I persevered, and was encouraged to realise I was improving. I was ‘stretched’ by an increase in repetitions, more exercises, less support. We talked about other things happening in my life, and worked on holistic coping strategies. I feel my confidence has improved and to a large extent have ‘got my life back’. My posture has certainly improved: friends have commented on it.

It doesn’t all come to a sudden halt after the visits. I'm working on my ‘maintenance programme’ of daily exercises to keep up the work Jan started. I'll be forever grateful for Jan’s amazing teaching, reasoning, good communication, wide knowledge of physiotherapy applied to my situation - all with her positive outlook."

E in Normanton

"I always have a fantastic experience at my physiotherapy sessions. I've had sessions with my therapists Gill and Jan for many months now. They are knowledgeable and took the time to understand and be attentive to my needs. I have always felt at ease with them, supported and encouraged throughout my treatment, and I am steadily making progress with them. They will ensure they work you hard to challenge you and get the most out of the time during the sessions. Thanks to their expertise, I've regained some mobility and confidence in my body. I highly recommend their services to anyone seeking top-notch physiotherapy care!"