When it comes to their children, there is nothing a parent won’t do to make their lives easier. This amazing mother Debby Elnatan’s second son was born with cerebral palsy, a condition that was diagnosed even before the child was born leading her to think of ways she could help him achieve normal moving capability. Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder in which loss of muscle control is experienced by the patient and decreased cognitive ability. She worked for months and months with many failures and eventually arrived at a design of a harness that could help her stricken child to walk. She named it Upsee.
Her son’s physiotherapist told her that his condition was such that he should sit inside the house all day, but she wasn’t to be satisfied with that and wanted more mobility so that her son could experience true life. With the harness in place, the little boy could move around a bit and experience a new freedom of movement. Also, this movement could be beneficial for the development of his muscles as lack of exercise means that they remain underdeveloped and weak for the rest of his life. The harness straps a child to the waist and legs of an adult, using the bigger body’s momentum, the child can move around with a bit of voluntary motion from his own side. The harness is also adjustable to a great extent so that a baby of any size and weight can be strapped to it.
The sheer joy on the faces of these palsy kids tell us the what a blessing is to be able to walk freely. The harness focuses on weight distribution as well so the child or the parent cannot feel too much discomfort while on the move. So, there are various ways in which engineering can be used to bring back the smiles and rare joys back into someone’s life. We have the ability to transform lives and experiences of people. How many of you are utilizing his gift?
