THERE has not been a moment when I have been more proud since suffering my stroke six years ago than last week when I visited the Oxford Centre for Enablement for an appointment.

On visiting the dining room at the neurological rehabilitation ward – where I spent four months as a resident six years ago – I noticed that they were still using an invention that I came up with when I was a resident. This was to raise the tables higher up so that patients in wheelchairs could pull up to the table comfortably to eat.

The ward would often have a high number of wheelchair users present and so the tables would be propped up on books or blocks of wood so the armrests of the wheelchair could fit comfortably under the edge of the table.

On one particular occasion when I was sat at one of these tables somebody came along and nudged the table causing it to fall off its blocks. All the plates slid off the table and all the food was on the floor. It was very noisy, very messy and created much work for the staff present.

Whilst observing this, the problem-solving element of my brain – which had always been very active but had been dormant for months while I was fighting for my life following my stroke – sprang into life.

I thought: ‘This is ridiculous. There must be a better solution to raise the tables.’ I came up with the idea that sleeves could be placed over the table legs, thus raising the height of the table for wheelchair users. This would mean that the sleeves could be taken off thus lowering the table back to its original height when there were not wheelchair users requiring higher tables. This would allow the table to be used by people sitting in ordinary seats. The great advantage of this would be that the table leg sleeves could be added or removed from the tables according to the demands of the patients.

I decided that lengths of plastic drain pipe from the local B&Q would do the job if I could find some that were just bigger than the table legs. And I recruited the help of a guy called John who was an occupational therapist teaching woodwork and crafts to the disabled patients at the centre. We sourced the correct pieces of drainpipe and cut them into the correct lengths.

We also opted for plastic caster covers to place over the ends of the new extended legs so that there would still slide nicely across the floor without making a horrible noise.

This worked absolutely perfectly and the extended legs made of drainpipes are still being used today.

I am seriously thinking of offering the idea to other hospitals and rehabilitation centres and who knows I might even put the invention forward for Dragons Den.

Whether or not I make any money from it wouldn’t matter, but it would be nice to know that the lives of patients and hospital staff would be made much easier by my invention. That would be a good legacy if you’ll excuse the pun.

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