Having a child who is disabled is challenging enough. But what if just one product you transform your life, and the life of your child?
When Debby Elnatan’s son Rotem was two years old she was told by medical professionals that he has cerebral palsy. Part of his physiotherapy requires Debby to walk him by holding upright, but as he got older the strain of walking him became too much.
When my son was two, I was told by medical professionals that “he didn’t know what his legs are and has no consciousness of them.
That was an incredibly difficult thing for a mother to hear. I started to walk him day after day, which was a very strenuous task for both of us.
It was then that this amazing mum thought up a device that would help her walk her son much more easily.
The Israeli mum, who says the idea came from her “pain and desperation” took it to Lecky Firefly, a company in Northern Ireland who loved the idea so much they have now mass produced it. It’s now been officially released, much to the relief of parents of disabled kids everywhere.
It’s called an ‘Upsee’. The harness straps a child into an upright position, secured against their parent’s legs so as their parents walk, they walk too.
It’s a brilliant product that not only helps disabled children learn how to walk, it also gives those children with no hope of every walking again a taste of life standing upright.
Claire Smythe is one mum delighted by the invention. Her son Daniel is severely learning delayed and needs help learning to walk, talk, speak and eat. The Upsee is a godsend for them. Claire uses the device to take Daniel for walks and his dad straps him in for a game of soccer.
