Solutions for New Mum Natalie

30th January 2024

REMAP has supported new mum Natalie by adapting her baby equipment, including pram, cot and safety gate, to make them wheelchair user friendly. She has shared her experience of REMAP in her own words.

I reached out to REMAP after a recommendation from a friend.

At the time my husband and I were planning our wedding and knew we were hoping to have children. I realised there was a big issue with getting a buggy to attach to my wheelchair.

Bob, an engineer from REMAP, visited me and tried several different methods until we finally came up with a solution that worked.

Bob listened to all my needs and was happy to work with the car seat I wanted to use. I was especially pleased that he was willing to do all this before we had a baby on the way. It was a big thing for me to know that this was sorted before we had a baby.

There were many delays in the project due to Covid etc, but we got there in the end and, when our little girl was born in May last year, we finally got to test the device attaching the buggy to my chair.

There were a few teething problems, as I couldn’t fit it into the boot of my car, so Bob came back and made alterations so that the handle could be removed.

Bob has also made me a device to reach up and open my windows and has since been back to fit a safety gate across our hall, (it needed some adapting first as I couldn’t manage the open/close release).

Another volunteer from REMAP adapted our daughter’s cot so that it opened at the side, which meant I could put her in safely.

REMAP is a truly fantastic service and I will soon need their help again. As my daughter outgrows the infant car seat, I’ll need a new method to get her in and out.

I rave about this service to everyone. I was even telling nurses on the ward when I had Iris because they were asking for help to give advice to other new mums with disabilities.