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There are numerous tools and pieces of equipment
that are involved during the process of treating those with GBS, and then
during the recovery phase. Here I will provide photo's and
description of equipment you might expect to see, and other you might
consider asking about! If you have suggestions or others to
contribute to this page please Contact
Me!
This first group of pictures was
sent to me by Marc. All of the narrative was sent to me along with
the photos. Thanks for sharing!
Click the photo to see it
full size.
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Bath chair. This is a rechargeable
battery set up. Put at one end of the
tub then push button on controller and it lowers you in the water. Roll up
in
wheelchair, slide board over onto tub edge then slide board right onto
chair.
Same procedure when getting out. Covered on insurance.
Eating utensils. Good old foam tubing. Slip over utensil and go. Kennedy
cup. Screw on top with straw opening in the middle. Plain old thick
handled
knife with wide blade. Keeps you from it twisting in your hand as you try
to
spread something.
Computer keyboard stand. Easily
and cheaply made. Most computer stations or
tables are about an inch thick. The stand would then slip onto the table
and
hold the keyboard up where you can access it with mouth stick or whatever.
Keeps you looking more straight at the computer screen instead of hunching
over and keeping your head down to type. More for people who don't have
use of
their hands yet. So why wait for things to come around when you can get
active
now?
Sip&Puff. This device clamps on to
my computer table next to the keyboard
stand. It controls the mouse functions. Clamp onto the mouthpiece and move
the
arrow around to where you want it, then puff for a left click and sip for
right click functions. This allowed me to drive right up to my computer in
my
power chair and get to the outside world when there wasn't any other way.
Again, this one wasn't covered on insurance and cost $1800 used but is
deductible on the fed side.
Utility stick. Wide diameter foam
covered stick, as I call it, with shoe
horn at one end and hooks at the other. This can be used for a variety of
uses
throughout a day. Let the tool and your imagination do the work.
AFO's. This is when I first
started to try walking. Because of my foot
drop issues, I couldn't get my heels to touch the ground no matter what
the
therapists tried. Still too early in the game to do corrective surgery so
what's a person supposed to do in the mean time? This is when I had the
ortho
guys really earn their money. Everyone involved wanted me to wait on
walking
until I could get my heels on the ground for obvious reasons. I sat there
thinking this could be a long time waiting so I asked a question to the
orthotics guy. If women can walk down hill in hi heel shoes, then why
can't we
apply that principal to me and my heel issue? As you see in the pic, each
bottom of the AFO's are built up to match the space between each heel and
the
floor. Now I have a flat surface on which to walk on. Could even put shoes
over them after this was done. This bit of creative thinking let me start
the
walking process much earlier instead of being chair bound completely for
months to come. All I had to do was ask. I started with solid ones then
had
them articulated as time went by. Note the spacer just above the ankle
area
where the break is. This keeps the knee from hyper extending and is
adjustable.
Also note the interior padding to address comfort. There is no excuse for
not
getting these things to fit and feel properly. Just take the time to do
so.
These people will work with you on almost anything if you ask for it. For
those that remember the Seinfeld episode where George finds those tennis
shoes
that make you jump higher (real wide at the front) , I had the ortho guys
make
me a set similar to those. Had this idea long before I saw the show too.
Thought it would give me better stabilization but they didn't work. The
point
is, that's pretty far for a prosthetic business to go for a patients whim.
Yet
they did and it cost me nothing. Don't really know if they billed
insurance or
not for all the work they did.
Chair riser. Simple 2 by 8 boards built into a box
and chair placed on
top. Have 8 foot couch and lounge chair done the same way also. This
allows me
to use the range my body works in at the moment. My wife doesn't have to
help
boost me out of a regular height chairs anymore at home.
The real impact for me with all these devises and stuff were the caregiver
aspect of things and our own well being. By taking these actions I was
able to
function on my own while my wife went to work for 8 hours. Still
wheelchair
bound, no hands or leg functions. My aunt would come by for an hour to
feed me
lunch but that was it. Pretty minimal impact on everyone involved and we
could
keep from having everything go upside down in life. The patient has to be
a
willing participant along with the caregiver to make everything work and
smooth out. If I can do it, everyone can.
Marc
Here is a
link to a
great site with all sorts of adaptive equipment
ideas!
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This page was last modified:
March 27, 2005
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